UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA    SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822  00694  6263 


■<''/,>W^,f!'.y-i''^^lfiii'jX^X'/:'/lf!i: 


INDIANA 


UNlVERSirfOF 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DJEGO 


:  d^-^^: 


'\<T' 


\5S    1^#<5B. 


Central  University  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 

Please  Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall 
after  two  weeks. 


Date  Due 


APR  19  1991 

DEC  i0l990 

CI  39  (1/90)                                                                 UCSDLib. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA.  SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822  00694  6263 


g7 


JUST    A    REMINDER. 


nrt^E: 


TWEITY-SEfEITH  IIIAM 


VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY 


WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION 


1861  TO   1865 


First  Division  12th  and  20th  Corps. 


A   HISTORY   OF    ITS    RECRUITING,   ORGANIZATION,   CAMP   LIFE,    MARCHES 
AND   BATTLES,   TOGETHER   WITH   A    ROSTER    OF   THE     MEN    COMPOS- 
ING  IT,   AND   THE   NAMES    OF    ALL    THOSE     KILLED    IN    BATTLE 
OR    WHO    DIED    OF     DISEASE,   AND,   AS    FAR   AS   CAN   BE 
KNOWN,   OF   THOSE   WHO   WERE   WOUNDED. 


A    MEMBER  OF  COMPANY  C. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1899,  in  the  office- 
of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
by  E.  R.  Brown. 


DEDICATION. 


To  tl^e  Honored  Men:\ory  of  tY[e  Men  of  all  rariKs, 
living  and  dead,  ^^1:10  coniposed  tl:|e  TiA^enty-seventl:\ 
Reginqent  of  Indiana  Volunteers,  in  tl^e  War  for  tl^e 
Union,  1861  to  1865 — vv'tiose  ■Wl)ole-]:|earted  loyalty  to 
Country,  extrenqe  devotion  to  duty,  and  "sublirqe 
repression  of  self"  and  self  interest,  during  tl^e  period 
of  t]:]eir  service,  alone  rnade  tl:|e  record  of  tY\e  organi- 
zation conspicuous  anqong  ott^ers  in  tl^e  briglqt  galaxy 
of  firnerican  History,  and  wlqiclq  tlqe  writer  Knows  of 
and  appreciates  so  iriucl^  better  tlqan  Iqe  Iqas  been  able 
to  set  tlqern  fortl\ — tlqis  volUrn.e  is  niost  affectionately 

dedicated  by 

THE  AUTHOR. 


x\bRAHAM     LlXCLOX, 


INTRODUCTORY. 


One  afternoon  in  September  of  the  memorable  and  fate- 
ful year  of  1861,  a  line  of  men  was  formed  in  the  State  Fair 
grounds  at  Indianapolis,  then  known  as  Camp  Morton.  Filing 
out  of  the  gate,  with  measured  steps,  timed  to  the  music  of 
fife  and  drum,  the  column  wound  its  way  to  Pennsylvania 
street,  down  that  to  Washington  street,  thence  west  until, 
after  various  turns,  it  arrived  at  a  point,  then  an  open  com- 
mon, on  the  bank  of  White  river,  ju-t  above  the  old  Terre 
Haute  and  Indianapolis  railroad.  Here  a  temporary  camp 
was  established. 

This  was  the  virtual  beginning  of  a  relation  between  these 
men  that  was  to  continue  for  three  years,  in  fact  on  through 
life.  There  were  then  close  to  an  even  thousand  of  them,  and 
about  one  hundred  others,  all  toUl,  joined  them  at  different 
intervals  afterwards.  During  the  three  years  with  which  we 
are  particularly  concerned  here,  a  fraction  over  one  in  seven 
of  those  men  were  killed  or  mortally  wounded  in  battle.  An 
average  of  almost  another  one  of  the  sare  seven  died  of 
disease,  a  harder  sacrifice,  if  possible,  to  make,  and  where  any 
one  of  the  remaining  five  was  not  seriously  wounded,  some 
other  one  was  wounded  twice  or  more  to  make  up  for  it. 

As  that  column  of  men  marched  that  day,  so  did  its 
diminishing  remnant  march — on  foot,  in  ranks,  through  heat, 
dust  and  mud,  each  carrying  his  gun,  equipments,  ammuni- 
tion, rations,  blankets,  extra  clothing,  and  later  on  his  tent 
and  cooking  utensils,  plodding  along  the  roads  and  tiirough 
fields  and  woods,  often  wading  creeks  and  rivers,  journeying 
from  place  to  place,  wherever  their  services  were  required — a 
total  distance  of  over  four  thousand  miles.  For  almost  twice 
that  distance  they  rode,  mostly  in  freight  cars  or  open  flat 
cars,  or  between  the  decks  of  steamships.  All  along  their 
circuitous,  zigzag  path,  from  the  popuU)us  borders  of  New 
York  Bay  to  the  lonely  oak  and  pine  covered  ridges  of  central 
Georgia,  they  left  behind  them  a  picket  line  of  new-made 
graves,  and  of  wrecks  of  living  men,  who,  from  that  time  to 
the  present,  have  not  known  what  it  is  to  be  well. 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

Who  were  those  men?  What  had  brought  them  together? 
How  about  their  services,  sacrifices,  tribulations  and  vicissi- 
tudes? How  did  they  deport  themselves,  and  what  kind  of  a 
spirit  was  in  them?  Were  they  here  of  their  own  accord, 
were  their  motives  high  and  unselfish,  did  they  try  to  accom- 
plish something  of  good  for  others  as  well  as  for  themselves? 
Did  they  continue  faithful  to  the  end?  Are  they  worthy  and 
shall  they  receive  the  commendation  of  their  fellow  men,  of 
this  and  succeeding  generations? 

To  answer  these  questions  is  the  purpose  of  this  narrative. 
That  is  its  only  justification  for  being  in  existence,  and  its  only 
plea  for  being  carefully  read  and  kindly  received  and  remem- 
bered. 

The  writer  submits  the  result  of  his  labors  with  many 
serious  misgivings.  That  it  comes  far  short  of  doing  full  jus- 
tice to  the  subject  he  is  deeply  conscious;  and  that  it  does  not 
contain  errors  and  misstatements  of  fact,  he  does  not  dare  to 
hope.  At  the  last  he  has  had  his  periods  of  sincere  doubt 
whether  or  not  it  was  fit  to  be  published.  The  most  that  he 
ventures  to  say  in  hisj  own  behalf,  and  in  behalf  of  his  work, 
is  that  his  intentions  have  been  good  and  that  he  has  done 
what  seemed  to  him  his  best,  under  the  circumstances. 

When  the  writer  first  accepted  the  position  of  historian 
of  his  regiment  he  did  so  because  he  was  then  entering  upon  a 
period  of  enforced  leisure  and  recreation  on  account  of  im- 
paired health.  He  believed  that  it  would  only  relieve  his  mind 
of  other  cares,  and  be  a  healthful  source  of  enjoyment  to  him 
to  spend  that  period,  of  uncertain  duration,  in  the  study,  travel 
and  writing  necessary  to  prepare  the  history,  thus  indulging 
the  warm  impulses  of  his  heart  towards  his  former  comrades, 
and  accomplishing  something  worthy  of  being  done,  as  well. 
But  for  various  reasons,  the  time  finally  came  when  he  felt  that 
he  ought  to  again  resume  the  duties  of  his  business  career, 
before  the  work  of  preparing  the  history  had  been  more  than 
fairly  begun.  Hence,  the  history,  such  as  it  is,  has  been  pre- 
pared wholly  in  the  scant  intervals  of  an  active  and  exacting 
business  life.  A  moment  snatched  now  and  then,  an  hour  or 
two  in  the  evening  or  late  at  night,  a  period  when  others  were 
resting  or  enjoying  themselves  in  meetings  of  societies  or  clubs, 
never  wholly  free  from  other  responsibilities  or  the  liability  of 
interruption,  never  under  conditions  really  favorable  for  study 


INTRODUCTIOX.  9 

or  doing  literary  work — these  are  the  ways  that  the  result, 
whether  good  or  bad,  has  been  wrought  out. 

Moreover,  the  writer  early  found  himself  at  a  disadvan- 
tage, not  thought  of  before,  in  two  additional  ways  :  One  of 
these  was  that  he  lived  outside  of  the  territory  where  most  of  the 
Others  interested  in  the  history  lived,  and  the  other  was,  that  he 
lived  where  he  could  not  have  access  to  books  or  records,  other 
than  those  he  owned.  He  has  seldom  met  those  who  could  tell 
him  what  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  know,  or  who  could  clear  up 
some  doubtful  point.  Having  to  write  for  such  things  and  wait 
for  an  answer,  often  to  find  then  that  the  question  had  been  mis- 
apprehended, has  caused  much  delay  and  extra  labor.  The 
same  has  bee  i  true  in  the  matter  of  depending  upon  otl.ers  to 
consult  books  and  public  records.  He  has  often  had  to  suspend 
his  labors  until  such  time  as  he  might  have  an  opportunity  of 
doing  so  himself.  It  was  furthermore  his  misfortune,  through 
a  misunderstanding  of  dates,  to  miss  one  or  more  of  the  earlier 
reunions  of  the  regiment.  At  others  the  matter  of  the  history 
was  inadvertently  crowded  out.  Some  years  of  time  were 
thus  practically  lost.  If  those  directly  concerned  will  have 
these  facts  in  mind,  it  will  help  them  to  understand  why  the 
history  has  been  so  long  delayed,  and  why  it  is  not  more  per- 
fect, now  that  it  is  out. 

In  the  measure  of  success  attained,  the  writer  desires  to 
acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  many  others.  At  the  head 
of  this  list  should  probably  stand  the  name  of  Qjiiartermaster 
Sergeant  John  A.  Crose,  deceased.  No  one  else  came  forward 
as  promptly,  no  one  else  had  as  rich  a  store  to  place  at  the  dis- 
posal of  an  historian,  and  no  one  else  could  be  more  warmheart- 
■ed,  indefatigable  and  tireless  in  labors  to  promote  the  history. 
His  numerous  letters  from  the  army  published  in  the  Indianap- 
olis Journal  and  Greencastle  Banner^  his  extended  and  faith- 
fully kept  diary  and  many  clippings,  facts  and  dates,  all  bear- 
ing upon  the  history  and  all  carefully  preserved  by  him,  were 
aX  once  cordially  given  over.  As  long  as  he  lived  also,  he  was 
ready  to  answer  any  question,  furnish  any  tlata  or  help  on  the 
work  in  any  possible  way.  What  he  did  was  all  the  more 
helpful,  because  he  did  it  with  sucli  evident  freewill.  S.id  that 
he  did  not  live  to  see  the  history  published.  His  kimllv  eyes 
must  have  closed  for  the  last  long  sleep  all  the  more  reluct- 
antly on  that  account. 

Next  in  order  of  early  and  al>o  tflicient    help,  stands  the 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

name  of  M.  H.  Van  Buskirk,  of  Company  F.  He,  too,  fur- 
nished a  diary,  covering  the  whole  period  of  the  service.  In 
supplying  facts  and  dates  omitted  by  Crose,  and  in  giving  dif- 
ferent views  of  things,  because  recorded  by  one  occupying  a 
different  station,  his  diary  was  invaluable.  He  has  also  been 
like  Crose,  in  always  standing  ready  to  help,  in  any  and  every 
way. 

John  Parham,  of.  Company  F,  furnished  a  briefly-kept 
diarv  covering  a  part  of  the  time,  as  did  also  E.  G.  Boicourt, 
of  the  same  company.  Mr.  Loughery,  of  Edinburg,  Ind. , 
son  of  Lieutenant  Loughery,  of  Company  C,  furnished  a 
similar  diary,  kept  by  his  father. 

Lieutenant  Rundell,  of  Company  G,  gave  the  writer  the 
use  of  a  series  of  letters  written  by  himself  and  others  to  his 
patriotic  mother,  who  carefully  preserved  them.  These  letters 
and  others  furnished  in  smaller  numbers  by  many  different 
persons,  reflected  a  light  upon  the  inner,  personal  histot-y  of 
soldier  life,  and  upon  the  unstinted  loyalty  that  this  great 
country  receives  from  her  young  men,  that  is  wonderful. 
Lieutenant  Rundell  has  also  been  one  of  the  members  of  the 
regiment  who  could  be  appealed  to  with  a  certainty  of 
response  in  every  emergency. 

Capt.  J.  C.  Williams  was  living  in  Missouri  during  the 
earlier  period  of  the  work  on  the  history.  Since  his  return  to 
Indiana  he  has  made  large  contributions  of  materials  that  have 
been  most  helpful  in  clearing  up  uncertain  points,  and  supply- 
ing information  not  attainable  before.  He  kept  an  extended 
diary  during  the  war,  in  which  he  recorded  every  day,  with 
great  precision,  the  leading  facts  observed  by  him.  Among 
these  were  numerous  statistics,  names  and  d.ites  not  known  at 
the  time  by  others.  Captain  Williams  has  also  furnished  a 
large  part  of  the  photographs  from  which  the  plates  were 
made  to  illustrate  the  history.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
the  portraits  of  the  officers  of  the  regiment. 

As  to  other  forms  of  assistance,  the  name  of  John  Bres- 
nahan,  of  Company  A,  is  easily  entitled  to  first  place.  His 
help  has  been  very  great.  Living  in  Washington  has  enabled 
him  to  do  more  than  would  have  been  possible  otherwise. 
Among  other  things,  he  supplied  the  writer  with  a  complete 
set  of  the  "Rebellion  Records,"  as  far  as  they  relate  to  this 
narrative.  Some  of  them  were  furnished  in  advance  of  their 
issuance   from   the   Government  printing    ofhce.      How,  or  by 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

what  means,  he   secured   these   valuable    public  documents,  it 
would,  perhaps,  not  be  fair  to  inquire. 

Capt.  Joseph  Balsley,  of  Company  H  ;  Lieut,  John  R, 
Rankin,  Company  A;  John  Deaxmin,  Joseph  D.  and  John 
D.  Loughlin,  of  Company  B;  Sergt.  W.  P.  Ellis  and  Nelson 
Purcell,  Company  E;  Sergt.  Joseph  Sellers,  Company  I; 
George  Mehringer  and  Corp.  Conrad  Eckert,  Company  K, 
and  doubtless  others,  should  be  mentioned  as  having  rendered 
valuable  aid. 

When  the  writer  visited  the  battlefields  of  the  regiment 
in  the  East,  John  Bresnahan,  at  his  own  expense,  accom- 
panied him  to  the  battlefields  of  Chancellorsville  and  Cedar 
Mountain.  With  respect  to  the  latter  field  in  particular,  this 
service  was  essential  to  the  history  of  that  engagement.  Like- 
wise, when  the  writer  visited  the  battlefields  of  the  Atlanta 
campaign,  Captain  Williams,  Corp.  George  East  and  John 
Hinchee,  all  of  Company  C,  accompanied  him;  the  two  for- 
mer not  only  paying  their  own  expenses,  but  also  contributing 
their  proportion  to  the  expenses  of  Hinchee,  who  was  able  to 
give  his  time  only.  Both  East  and  Hinchee  had  been  present 
with  their  company  in  all  of  these  battles,  and  without  them 
along  it  would  have  been  useless  for  the  writer  to  go. 

As  to  the  form  and  mould  in  which  the  narrative  is  cast,  it 
was  decided  upon  after  no  little  reflection.  To  write  from  the 
view  point  of  one  in  the  ranks  and  relate  facts  and  events  a& 
they  appeared  to  him  in  that  position,  seemed  unavoidable,  it 
the  writer  was  to  do  it.  That  was  where  he  was,  and  that 
was  the  only  view  that  he  had.  In  reference  to  this  it  may  be 
said,  that  if  this  way  of  relating  the  matters  in  hand  seems  a 
little  odd  to  some,  because  they  had  a  slightly  difi"erent  under- 
standing of  things  at  the  time,  it  will  not  seem  odd  to  the 
majority,  because  they  occupied  a  position  similjr  to  that  of 
the  writer. 

A  matter  less  easy  to  decide  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  own 
mind,  was  whether  or  not  the  writer  was  to  go  forward  and 
tell  a  continuous  story,  as  if  present  and  witnessing  what  he 
was  relating,  when,  in  fact,  he  was  not  always  present.  In  the 
interest  of  brevity,  as  well  as  to  avoid  the  introduction  of  more 
than  one  form  of  narrative,  it  was  decided  to  do  as  has  been 
done. 

From  the  very  outset,  the  writer  has  I  ad  the  ideal  in 
mind   that  this  was  to  be  the  history  of  a  regiment,  of  an  organ 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

ized  body  of  men — rather  than  the  history  of  one  man  or  any 
number  of  individual  men.  The  aim  has  steadily  been,  there- 
fore, to  show  what  this  organization  did  and  the  kind  of  ma- 
terial of  which  it  was  composed.  If  individual  names  have 
been  mentioned  or  individual  deeds  recorded,  it  has  only  been 
because  it  seemed  necessary  to  an  understanding  of  what  was 
being  related  or  as  an  example  or  illustration  of  what  was  true 
of  others.  In  pursuance  of  this  ideal  no  biographies  have 
been  inserted.  Who  this  or  that  man  was  before  the  war, 
where  he  has  lived  or  what  he  has  accomplished  since  the 
war,  are  not  sufficiently  relevant  to  admit  of  their  statement 
in  this  place. 

Where  distances  are  exactly  stated  in  the  narrative  it 
means,  in  most  cases,  that  the  writer  has  measured  them  since 
the  war.  Material  facts  or  figures  have  also  been  carefully 
considered  and  will  not  be  found  far  astray,  however  they 
may  appear  at  first  thought.  Where  criticism  has  been  made 
or  opinions  expressed,  the  writer  is  alone  responsible  for 
them. 

MoNTiCELLO.  Ind.,  September  1,  1899. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  RECRUITING  OF  THE  REGIMENT. 

The  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry  was 
recruited  during  the  last  days  of  July  and  first  days  of  August, 
1861.  It  was  among  the  earliest  of  those  regiments  which 
sprang  to  arms  in  response  to  President  Lincoln's  first  call  for 
800,000  men  to  serve  '•  three  years  or  during  the  war,"  and 
which  bore  so  largely  the  brunt  of  that  great  contest. 

If  a  radius  should  be  drawn  upon  the  map  of  Indiana, 
extending  from  Indianapolis  south,  a  distance  of  seventy-five 
miles,  then  swung  around  westward  until  it  extended  from 
Indianapolis  due  west,  it  would  indicate,  in  a  general  way, 
the  section  of  the  State  in  which  the  men  of  the  regiment 
lived  previous  to  the  war,  and  where  a  majority  of  the  surviv- 
ors still  reside.  The  only  exceptions  to  this  of  much  note 
would  be  that,  when  extending  from  Indianapolis  southwest, 
the  radius  would  be  slightly  too  short ;  and,  when  extending 
west,  it  would  be  longer  than  necessary. 

The  towns  and  counties  where  the  companies  were  nom- 
inally recruited  were  as  follows  :  Company  A,  Greencastle^ 
Putnam  county;  Company  B,  Raglesville,  Daviess  county; 
Company  C,  Edinburg,  Johnson  county;  Company  D,  Bed- 
ford, Lawrence  county;  Company  E,  Washington.  Daviess 
county;  Company  F,  Bloomington,  Monroe  county;  Com- 
pany G,  Morgantown,  Morgan  county;  Company  H.  Paris,. 
Jennings  county  ;  Company  I,  Putnamville,  Putnam  county, 
and  Company  K,  Jasper,  DuBois  county. 

These  towns  were  the  principal  centers  of  recruiting 
activity.  Perhaps  in  every  instance  more  men  of  the  several 
companies  belonged  in  the  towns  named,  or  in  their  immedi- 
ate vicinity,  than  in  any  other  one  locality.  But  in  all  the 
companies  other  towns  and  localities  were  largely  represented, 
and,  in  some,  the  representation  from  several  other  places  was 
almost  if  not  quite  equal  to  the  one  named. 

The  same  was  even  more  true  with  respect  to  counties. 
There  were  men  in  all  the  companies  from  other  counties  than 


14  HISTORY    OF    THE 

those  named.  In  some  instances  the  men  who  really  lived  in 
the  county  named,  in  connection  with  a  company,  were  in  a 
minority.  In  one  or  more  instances,  parties  interested  in  re- 
cruiting went  to  points  at  considerable  distances  from  their 
homes,  and  secured  men  who  otherwise  would  not  have  been 
in  the  regiment.  A  case  in  point  was  where  Captain  Buehler, 
of  Company  D,  went  from  Bedford  back  to  Brownstown, 
where  he  had  formerly  lived,  and  secured  the  enlistment  of  a 
number  of  men  for  his  company.  There  was  also  a  sprinkling 
of  men  in  the  Twenty-seventh  who  belonged  in  other  states. 
Persons  engaged  in  business  or  at  work,  or  who  happened  to 
be  attending  school  or  visiting  in  Indiana,  enlisted  with  us, 
though  their  homes  were  not  in  the  state.  In  our  ranks  were 
also,  we  are  proud  to  reflect,  a  few  refugees  from  the  South. 
Some  of  those  heroic  men  who,  refusing  to  be  led  by  others, 
or  subm  t  to  popular  clamor,  dared  to  remain  loyal  to  the  old 
flag  and,  compelled  on  that  account  to  flee  their  homes,  came 
North  and  enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  were  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh.  Through  the  precipitate  disbanding  of  a  partially 
organized  company  in  Camp  Morton,  ordered  by  the  Gov- 
ernor because  the  prospective  captain  had  proved  to  be  p-ofli- 
gate,  about  fifteen  men  from  White  county  and  one  from 
Pulaski  county,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  joined  their 
fortunes  with  the  Twenty-seventh,  after  its  companies  had 
been  fully  organized.  The  men  from  White  county  served  in 
Company  F,  while  the  sole  representative  from  Pulaski 
chanced  to  be  the  writer.  For  similar  reasons,  probably, 
scattering  men  from  several  other  counties  joined  the  different 
companies  at  Camp  Morton. 

The  time  when  the  Twenty-seventh  was  recuited  being 
just  after  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  it  goes  without  say- 
ing that  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  Indiana  was  then  very 
deep  and  intense.  They  had  been  slow  to  believe  in  the  pos- 
sibility of  a  clash  of  arms.  Taking  counsel  of  their  own 
inclinations,  they  could  not  tliink  that  the  disaffected  ones  at 
the  South  would  go  to  such  an  extreme.  Fort  Sumter,  while 
it  had  awakened  them  to  a  realization  of  facts  which  they  had 
been  deaf  and  blind  to  before,  still  did  not  fully  convince  them 
of  the  fierce  and  relentless  spirit  behind  the  uprising.  It 
required  Bull  Run  to  do  that.  Now,  though  none  even  yet 
began  to  divine  the  great  severity  andl  ong  duration  of  the  strug- 
gle, all  were  fully  convinced  that  a  terrible  war  was  at  hand. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  15 

It  was  not  alone  because  the  Union  army  was  assailed 
and  driven  back  at  Bull  Run.  It  was  bad  enough  that  men 
should  be  fired  upon  and  killed  by  those  who  had  been  their 
fellow  citizens,  who,  in  fact,  were  their  kinsmen  and  acquaint- 
ances. But  that  they  should  be  subjected  to  gross  insults  and 
indignities,  even  be  assaulted  and  bayonetted,  after  being 
wounded,  and  when  they  were  willing  to  surrender,  and  that 
the  poor,  mangled  remains  of  the  killed  should  be  denied 
respectable  burial,  or  be  mutilated,  as  if  in  the  hands  of  sav- 
ages, their  bones  being  exposed  as  relics,  or  sawed  and  carved 
for  ornaments,  solely  because  they  had  worn  the  uniform  and 
marshalled  under  the  flag  of  their  country,  demanding  only 
submission  to  its  rightful  authority  and  obedience  to  its  equal 
laws — these  things  were  as  a  fire  in  the  bones. 

Multitudes  of  men  went  about  their  usual  employments  in 
a  dazed,  mechanical  way,  with  tears  in  their  eyes  and  with 
dire  thoughts  and  purposes  taking  shape  in  their  minds.  Pro- 
fessional men  lost  interest  in  their  callings,  merchants  forgot 
to  consider  their  profits  or  the  wants  of  their  customers,  and 
mechanics  found  it  impossible  to  concentrate  their  thoughts 
upon  what  they  were  trying  to  do.  Farmers  in  plowing  and 
reaping,  some  prayed  and  others  swore,  from  one  end  of  their 
fields  to  the  other.  Mothers  went  silently  about  their  home 
duties  with  red  eyes  and  swollen  eyelids,  and  fathers  choked 
down  when  asking  a  blessing  at  the  table.  Boys  coaxed  their 
parents  every  day  for  their  consent  to  enlist,  and  husbands 
told  their  wives  at  meal-time  that  they  would  surely  die  if 
compelled  to  stay  at  home. 

Interest  in  military  matters  was  universal.  Large  num- 
bers of  young  men,  with  many  not  so  young,  organized  them- 
selves into  companies  and  were  drilled,  at  frequent  intervals, 
■on  the  village  green,  by  those  who  had  been  in  the  Mexican 
war,  or  had  had  some  other  military  experience.  To  these 
■drills  the  whole  country-side  turned  out.  Even  the  boys  from 
eight  to  twelve,  gathered  in  bands  by  themselves  and  marched 
here  and  there,  carrying  wooden  guns. 

Everybody  was  eager  to  learn  the  purport  of  the  latest 
■dispatches.  Newsboys  sold  armloads  of  papers.  Persons 
passing  along  the  road  in  country  districts  were  hailed,  and 
asked  if  there  was  anything  new  from  the  front. 

The  seat  of  war  ai  this  time  was  in  X'irginia,  with  mat- 
ters in  Missouri  assuming  more  and  more  of  a  war-like  aspect. 


16  HISTORY    OF    THE 

In  both  of  these  states,  the  names  of  littb  interior  towns,  and 
insignificant  cross-roads  and  creeks,  unheard  of  before,  and 
that  could  scarcely  be  found  on  any  map,  were  upon  all  lips. 
Armies  were  rapidly  being  mobilized  in  their  vicinity  and 
battles  seemed  imminent. 

But  the  current  was  not  all  in  one  direction.  In  all  parts 
of  Indiana,  particularly  in  the  southern  half  of  the  State,  were 
people  who  openly  sided  with  the  insurgents.  Just  at  this 
period  they  were  probably  less  out-spoken  than  at  an}^  other 
during  the  war,  yet  their  real  sentiments  were  no  secret.  Of 
the  original  native  settlers  of  central  and  southern  Indiana,^ 
those  from  below  the  Ohio  river  largely  predominated.  Most 
of  them  had  moved  over  from  Kentucky,  though  many  of  them 
were  natives  of  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  Tennessee  and  other 
Southern  States. 

A  small  per  cent,  of  these  people  of  Southern  antecedents 
were  intense  haters  of  slavery.  They  or  their  progenitors 
had  fled  from  the  South  for  the  sole  purpose  of  escaping  its 
baleful  influence.  This  class,  without  exception ,  were  intensely 
loyal  to  the  Union.  Nobody  saw  clearer  than  they  that  the 
rebellion  was  simply  a  conspiracy  of  the  slave  oligarchy, 
wholly  in  its  interest  and  having  its  intolerant,  murderous 
spirit. 

But,  as  might  have  been  expected,  the  larger  part  of 
these  Southern  emigrants  and  many  of  their  descendants  were 
still  closely  allied  with  the  section  of  their  nativity.  They 
had  come  north  for  no  other  reason  than  the  hope  of  bettering^ 
their  condition  in  a  newer  country.  By  all  the  ties  of  kindred, 
early  association  and  with  a  blind  faith  in  the  prestige  and 
leadership  of  the  South,  they  held  loyally  to  it.  Through  all 
the  previous  agitations  and  discussions  leading  up  to  the  pres- 
ent crisis  they  had  championed  its  side  among  their  neighbors. 
While  not  many  of  them  at  this  time  openly  and  unqualifiedly 
justified  the  rebellion,  some  of  them  did  ;  and  all  united  in  the 
avowal  that  those  engaged  in  it  had  had  strong  provocation. 
With  still  greater  vehemence  and  persistence,  if  not  greater 
unanimity,  they  repeated  another  statement,  which  was  :  "  You 
never  ca7i  covqtter  the  South.''' 

There  were  peop'e  also  not  of  Southern  stock,  who,  never- 
theless, were  old  time  Southern  sympathizers.  The  reasons 
were  various  and  need  not  be  enumerated  here.  These  people 
were  always  out-spoken  and  generally  loud-mouthed,  in  justi- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  17 

fving  slavery  and  everything  done  by  slave  holders.  They 
affected  a  special  aversion  for  a  negro,  and  the  torment  of 
their  lives  was  that  the  "niggers"  might  some  time  "come 
up  and  live  amongst  us."  In  the  event  of  war  there  could  be 
no  question  as  to  which  side  they  would  espouse,  at  least  as 
far  as  talk  went.  These  were  the  people  who  deceived  the 
Southern  leaders,  to  the  extent  that  they  were  deceived,  with 
reference  to  the  material  aid  they  might  expect  in  the  North. 
Those  who  knew  them  best  never  had  any  other  feeling  than 
one  of  contempt  for  these  Northern  "  dough-faces,"  as  they 
were  called. 

As  has  been  said,  these  people  of  all  classes  who  were  so 
stout  in  their  affirmations  that  the  rebellion  could  not  be  sup- 
pressed, and  who  in  their  hearts  desired  that  it  might  not  be 
done,  were  saying  and  doing  less  just  now  than  they  had  been 
and  would  be  again  ;  yet,  in  a  more  or  less  surreptitious  way, 
not  a  little  was  being  said,  and  the  influence  exerted  was 
potent. 

Out  of  such  conditions  as  these  the  Twenty-seventh  and 
most  of  the  earlier  volunteer  regiments  from  Indiana,  sprung. 
It  was  in  such  a  white,  furnace  heat  that  its  materials  were 
refined,  crystalized  and  tempered.  If  men  entered  the  army 
anywhere  or  at  any  time,  under  conditions  resembling  drift- 
wood floating  upon  the  current,  it  was  impossible  that  many 
such  should  be  in  our  ranks. 

It  has  been  a  disappointment  to  the  writer,  that  the  ixa- 
terials  have  not  been  available  for  a  detailed  history  of  the 
gathering  together  of  the  men  composing  the  regiment.  So 
few  of  the  facts  have  appeared  to  be  in  the  possession  of  any 
one  person,  and  in  most  instances  everything  pertaining  to 
the  subject  has  become  so  vague  and  shadowy  in  the  minds 
of  all,  that  anything  like  a  particular  and  circumstantial  ac- 
count of  the  enlistment  of  the  men  has  been  beyond  reach. 
In  outline,  the  methods  pursued  and  many  of  the  attending 
circumstances  seem  to  have  been  similar  in  all  cases.  The 
method  most  common  was  to  circulate  a  paper,  the  heading 
to  which  bound  those  attaching  their  signatures  to  serve  in  the 
army  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  "  for  a  period  of 
three  years  or  during  the  war."  Several  such  papers,  evi- 
dently copies  of  the  originals,  are  still  on  file  in  the  Adjutant- 
General's  Office   at   Indianapolis,  mementos  of  the  recruiting 

of  different  companies  of    the  Twenty-seventh.     Without  ex- 

2  ■         '' 


18  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ception,  as  far   as  known,  the  circulation  of  these  papers  and 
the    solicitation    of  signatures    to  them    was  inaugurated  by 
those  who  were  afterward  commissioned  officers,  or  expected 
to   be.      They    w'ere  sometimes  materially  aided  in  their  work 
by  citizens,  of  more  or    less  prominence,    who,  it  was  under- 
stood, were  not  themselves  intending  to  go.     These  last  made 
■speeches,  wrote  articles  for  the  papers  and  in   private  conver- 
•sations  and  by  personal   appeals,  labored  for  the  end  in  view. 
In  no  instance  known  to  the  writer,  was  there,  in  the  re- 
'cruiting  of  this  regiment  or   any   other  Indiana  regiment,  re- 
cruited  at   this    period,  any   very   large   meetings  held  or  any 
great  demonstrations  made.     Meetings,   when   any   were  nec- 
essary, were  usually  small,  and  the  proceedings  were  charac- 
terized by   order   and   deliberation.     The   fife  and  drum  were 
invariable  adjuncts,  but  were  used  more  to  advertise  the  gath- 
ering   than     with     any    thought    of   exciting    passions.      The 
speeches  consisted   wholly  of  arguments  showing  why   it  was 
right  and  necessary  for  the  friends  of  the  Union  to   wage  war 
as  was  proposed,  and  the  sacrifices,  privations  and  dangers  of 
service  in  the   army   were   prominently  set  forth,   rather  than 
kept    back.     The    line    of    thought    presented    by   all    public 
speakers  and  expressed,   over   and   over,  in    private  conversa- 
tion, by  all  friends  of  the  Union  and  those  favoring  the  prose- 
cution  of   the    war  at   the  North,  w^as  substantially  the  same. 
They  said  :  The  rebellious  states  are  the  aggressors,  they  have 
struck    the  first  blow,   and  nations,  like  individuals,  have  the 
natural,  inherent  right  of  self-defense.     The  principle  of  seces- 
sion once  admitted,   nothing   remains  of  the  Union,  under  the 
compact  of  the  constitution.      Revolution   can  not  be  justified 
without  a  Bill  of  Rights,  or  other  evidence  that  petitions  and 
remonstrances    have    been    repeatedly    made  and   persistently 
denied.      Whatever   its  faults,  this   is  the  best   government  in 
the  world,  and  to  break  it  up  and  destroy  it  is  a  heinous  crime 
and  sin.      This    is   the   only  experiment  anywhere,  on   a  large 
scale,  of  self  government  among  men.     If  this  fails,  the  hopes 
of  earth's  oppressed   millions  will  be  blighted.     Our  forefa- 
thers bled  and  died  to  give  us  these  free  institutions;  we  must 
not  be  so  unworthy  as  to  allow  them  to   perish.      Our  flag  has 
been  fired  upon  and  dislionored,  the  men  wearing  the  uniform 
of  our   army   have   been    shot   down  ;  are    we  so  cringing  and 
craven  hearted  as  not  to  resent  it?  etc.,  etc.    Considerable  was 
also  said  about  the  relative  fighting  qualities  of  Northern  and 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  19 

Southern  soldiers.  On  this  point  the  claim  of  the  .South  that 
their  soldiers  were  superior  to  ours,  was,  of  course,  denied  and. 
scouted  ;  but  it  is  an  open  question  whether  a  great  many 
Union  soldiers  did  not  go  to  the  field  rather  under  the  spell 
of  the  oft-repeated,  defiant  assertions  of  the  enemies  of  the 
country  that  they  were  not  quite  equal  to  those  with  whom 
they  would  have  to  contend,  this  spell  being  cast  over  them, 
in  large  part,  by  their  own  friends  and  neighbors.  All  of 
these  arguments  and  appeals  were,  of  course,  designed,  not 
only  to  meet  the  natural  demands  of  the  situation,  but  were 
in  reply  to  assertions  and  claims  of  a  contrary  nature. 

Frequently  a  party  of  from  two  to  a  dozen,  armed  with 
fife  and  drum  and  sometimes  accompanied  by  a  speaker  or  two, 
went  by  appointment  to  a  country  school-house  or  neighbor- 
ing village,  to  hold  a  meeting,  and,  if  possible,  secure  recruits 
The  progress  of  such  a  party  across  the  country,  up  the  lanes 
and  through  the  patches  of  woodland,  was  heralded  by  the 
squeak  of  the  fifes  and  the  rattle  and  thump  of  drums.  But 
far  more  impressive,  to  those  whom  they  passed  on  the  way, 
was  the  stars  and  stripes  which  they  usually  held  aloft.  To 
the  heart  of  many  a  country  boy  came  thrills  of  patriotism  and 
moving  impulses  to  heroic  deeds  for  country,  as  he  beheld 
this  sight,  while  toiling  in  the  field  or  waiting  at  the  roadside. 

At  all  such  me  tings  there  was  more  fife  and  drum  music. 
The  speeches  were  made  and,  following  these,  an  opportunity 
to  sign  the  paper,  or  "  volunteer,"  as  it  was  called,  was 
afforded.  vSometimes  there  was  a  singing  of  patriotic  songs 
by  the  amateur  singers  of  the  vicinity.  In  this  the  young 
ladies  especially  exerted  themselves,  and  were  often  verv 
effective.  vSome  enlistments  were  expected  and  others  were 
great  surprises  to  all.  Occasionally  a  quiet,  silent  young 
man,  who  ha  i  previously  said  nothing  to  any  one,  or  in  anv 
way  given  a  hint  of  his  intention  to  do  so,  would  go  forward, 
with  white  face  and  compressed  lips,  and  afiix  his  name  to  the 
roll.  Not  infrequently  such  action  was  followed  by  a  shriek 
from  the  boy's  mother  or  sister,  who  thus  had  had  a  sharp 
arrow  pierce  her  heart.  Sometimes  there  was  bitter  weeping 
by  many  persons,  after  the  meeting  adjourned. 

But,  all  things  considered,  it  is  amazing  how  earnest  and 
resolute  the  mothers,  wives  and  sisters  were  in  those  terrible 
days  of  trial.  None  could  foresee  the  many  dread  conse- 
quences that  might   result   from  going  off  to  such  a  war,  and 


20  HISTORY    OK    THE 

none  could  feel  the  weight  of  the  blow  it  was  sure  to  entail  on 
affectionate  hearts,  to  the  extent  that  they  themselves  did. 
Yet  no  class  encouraged  enlistments  more  than  they.  ]Mothers, 
with  breaking  hearts,  when  sons  asked  their  consent  to  go, 
said  :  "  Yes,  my  son,  go  ;  and  may  God  keep  you  and  bring 
you  back  to  us  again,  if  it  be  His  will."  The  younger 
women — the  sisters  and  sweethearts — wee  equally  ready  to 
encourage  enlistments,  even  though  it  did  cost  them  un- 
speakable agony.  The  young  man  who,  without  a  palpably 
good  excuse,  hesitated  about  enlisting,  found  little  favor  with 
them,  and  often  found  himself  flatly  jilted.  The  influence 
exerted  by  loyal  women  in  preserving  the  Union  can  scarcely 
be  overstated. 

As  to  previous  occupations,  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  were  farmers.  They  came  fresh  from  their 
country  homes  to  answer  what  they  believed  to  be  the  distinct 
call  of  duty,  and,  when  the  war  was  over,  most  of  the  sur- 
vivors went  back  to  the  farm  again.  The  wheat  crop,  which 
is  relatively  very  important  in  Indiana,  had  just  been  har- 
vested, and  most  other  prominent  crops  had  been  practically 
laid  by,  leaving  them  freer  to  leave  home  at  that  time  than 
they  had  been  earlier  in  the  season. 

But  almost  all  other  callings  were  represented.  If  occa- 
sion had  required,  a  complete  and  competent  court  of  justice 
might  have  been  made  up  from  among  us — judge,  attorneys, 
clerk  and  sheriff,  with  duplicates  for  all  the  other  county 
offices.  Almost  every  company  had  one  or  more  practicing- 
physician,  or  medical  student,  capable  of  administering  to  the 
wants  of  the  sick.  In  addition  to  the  chaplain,  regularly 
ordained  ministers  were  not  wanting,  as  well  as  others  not  so 
far  along  in  their  high  calling.  Our  teachers,  though  mostly 
young  and  of  somewhat  limited  experience,  were  numerous 
enough,  and  of  those  who  lived  through  it,  some  attained 
marked  eminence  after  the  war.  When  at  Camp  Hamilton 
we  were  drawing  flour  and  were  sorely  perplexed  how  to 
utilize  it,  bakers  in  plenty  turned  up,  as  well  as  brick  masons 
to  build  the  ovens.  At  Berryville,  when  we  came  in  posses- 
sion of  a  printing  office,  we  found  we  had  no  lack  of  printers. 
In  other  emergencies  we  discovered  that  we  had  competent 
millers,  sawyers,  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  etc.  If,  on  some  of 
our  long  marches,  a  train  of  cars  had  luckily  fallen  into  our 
hands,  we  had  a  full  train  crew  ready,  from  engineer  and  fire- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  21 

man  to  rear  brakeman.  If  we  had  captured  a  steamboat,  we 
could  have  manned  it  entire,  including  a  pilot  for  almost  any 
of  our  western  rivers.  Thus  the  Twenty-seventh  was  com- 
posed of  those  hardy,  self-reliant,  energetic  men  of  affairs 
which  the  hardships  and  demands  of  western  life  tend  to 
develop.  They  were  men  capable  of  taking  care  of  them- 
selves, and  all  of  them  had  had  plans  looking  to  that  end. 
Some  thirty  years  after  the  muster-out,  a  careful  research 
developed  the  fact  that,  of  the  three  hundred  members  of  the 
regiment  then  living,  none  were  in  the  poor-house  and  only 
three  were  in  soldiers'  iiomes  ;  while  of  the  total  number  who 
survived  the  war,  not  more  than  one  or  two  had  been  con- 
victed of  crime. 

As  to  nativity,  the  majority  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were 
simply  western  conglomerates.  At  least  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  officers  and  men,  if  not  more,  were  American  born.  But, 
w^iile  a  few  of  them  were  descendants  of  that  band  of  numer- 
ous progeny — the  original  freightage  of  the  Mayflower — and 
of  other  early  settlers  of  the  Colonies,  many  of  them  were 
only  of  the  third,  or  second,  and  even  of  the  first  generation, 
born  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  If  some  of  us  proudly  claimed 
a  strain  of  Puritan  or  Cavalier  blood  in  our  veins  it  had  unde- 
niably been  crossed  with  German  and  Low  Dutch,  Scotch  and 
Irish,  until  it  was  impossible  to  decide  which  now  predomi- 
nated, and  few  cared  about  it  anyway.  As  is  generally  the 
case  everywhere,  those  who  bore  surnames  evidently  derived 
from  the  Puritans,  Huguenots  or  Scotch  Covenanters  had,  at 
the  same  time.  Christian  names  inherited  from  a  more  recent 
ancestry,  of  different  stock.  The  British  isles  and  the  north 
of  Europe  had  furnished  the  original  parentage.  Industrious, 
temperate  and  frugal,  with  deep  moral  convictions,  self- 
respecting,  liberty-loving,  fearless  and  enterprising — they  are 
the  best  class  of  emigrants  that  have  ever  abandoned  their 
native  country  to  make  their  home  in  another.  Fused  into 
one  people,  not  only  by  a  common  citizenship,  common  inter- 
ests of  other  kinds,  and  long  association,  but  by  intermar- 
riages, their  posterity  is  still  farther  improved.  Of  such 
was  the  body  of  the  Twenty-seventh.  Whether  descended 
from  more  remote  or  more  recent  arrivals  in  the  country,  is 
not  material. 

One  of  our  companies  had  such  a  preponderance  of  Ger- 
man-speaking men   in   it  that  we  called  it  our  "  Dutch  Koom- 


22  HISTORY    OF    THE 

pany."  Yet  most  of  these  young  men  who  spoke  the  English 
hmguage  brokenly,  had  been  born  in  the  United  States,  and, 
in  some  instances,  their  fathers  before  them  had  been.  With 
them,  in  the  same  company,  were  also  men  not  of  German 
descent,  and,  along  with  the  rest,  were  three  or  four  genuine 
Hibernians,  rather  recent  arrivals.  All  of  the  companies  had 
more  or  less  of  these  "  sprigs  of  the  Emerald  Isle" — enough  to 
furnish  most  of  the  mother  wit  and  quick  retorts  of  the  regi- 
ment, as  well  as  to  take  care  of  any  raw  w^iiskey  that  might 
otherwise  have  escaped  confiscation.  It  has  been  tersely  said  : 
"  The  Irish  fight  for  all  countries  and  have  none  of  their  own," 
but  they  make  good  soldiers. 

A  characteristic  of  the  Twenty-seventh  that  often  attract- 
ed attention  was  the  large  proportion  of  tall  men  which  it 
contained.  It  is  quite  generally  known  that  we  had  with  us 
the  tallest  man  in  the  entire  United  States  army.  This  has 
been  definitely  settled.  Capt.  David  Buskirk  stood  full  six 
feet  eleven  and  one-half  inches  in  his  stockings.  It  was  the 
plan,  at  first,  that  his  company  should  be  composed  wholly  of 
men  six  feet  tall  and  over.  Though  this  was  found  imprac- 
ticable, the  company  still  had  in  it,  at  the  start,  eighty  men  of 
that  class. 

It  would  be  safe  to  say  that  the  other  companies  averaged 
at  least  fifty  six-footers  each.  Some  quite  short  men  (or  boys) 
brought  the  average  down  considerably  ;  but  the  matter  of  our 
unusual  average  height  was  the  subject  of  frequent  remark, 
particularly  in  the  early  part   of  our  service. 

And  we  measured  well,  in  comparison  with  others,  in  at 
least  one  other  respect.  In  that  respect  we  exceeded  some 
others  by  inany  feet.  Quartermaster-sergeant  Crose,  often 
referred  to  his  comical,  though  laborious,  experiences  in  suppy- 
ing  the  men  with  shoes  that  were  large  enough  for  them. 
Each  time  he  drew  shoes  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  bundle  up 
the  fives  and  sixes  and  go  around  among  the  neighboring  regi- 
ments and  exchange  them  for  nines  and  tens.  For  this  pur- 
pose, the  Ninth  New  York  and  Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania 
were  his  favorite  resorts,  while  they  remained  in  the  brigade. 
They  contained  mostly  city-bred  men,  with  diminutive  pedal 
extremities. 

On  the  point  of  the  average  age  of  the  men  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  it  is  more  difiicult  to  speak,  in  the  enforced  absence 
of  the  figures.    The  opinion  has  been  expressed  that  the  average 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  23 

was  higher  than  in  most  other  regiments.  The  writer  does 
not  concur  in  that  opinion.  The  fact  that  our  men  had  been 
so  generally  accustomed  to  out-door  life  and  to  physical  labor, 
may  have  given  them  an  older  appearance  than  if  the  contrary 
had  been  true.  Anyway,  the  few  known  facts  at  hand  and 
the  general  impression  as  it  is  recalled,  seem  to  the  writer  to 
be  conclusive  that  the  Twenty-seventh  was  below,  rather  than 
above,  the  average  age.  At  all  events,  the  average  could  not 
have  been  high. 

A  computation  from  the  muster  rolls  of  the  Union  army 
has  shown  that  of  1,012,273  soldiers,  the  age  of  133,475  was 
put  down  at  eighteen — almost  fourteen  per  cent.  The  num- 
ber set  down  as  being  nineteen  was  90,215,  or  ten  percent. 
Less  than  five  per  cent,  was  recorded  as  being  twenty-five,  and 
the  number  decreases  rapidly  as  the  age  increases.  No  age  under 
eighteen  being  recognized  in  la^v.  all  of  those  below,  as  well  as 
those  at  that  age,  would  be  enrolled  as  being  eighteen.  The 
real  average  would,  therefore,  be  slightly  below  the  apparent 
average. 

Most  of  the  companies  in  the  Twenty-seventh  had,  at  the 
start,  at  least  one  boy,  and  some  of  them  had  two,  of  quite  ten- 
der years,  enlisted  as  musicians.  Some  of  these  could  scarcely 
have  been  more  than  twelve  years  old,  and  none  of  them  were 
more  than  fourteen  or  fifteen.  Though  some  of  them  probably 
carried  muskets  later  on,  it  was  not  so  intended  in  the  begin- 
ning. In  the  company  in  which  the  writer  served  were  at  least 
six  persons,  enlisted  as  musket  holders,  who  were  really  only 
sixteen  years  old  when  mustered  in.  Part  of  them  were  barely 
past  that  age,  and  the  others  lacked  a  few  days  of  having 
reached  it.  But  the  ages  of  these  persons  did  not  bring  them 
into  striking  contrast  with  others.  Some  were  much  older,  of 
course,  but  by  far  the  larger  part  were  not  greatlv  removed 
from  these  six  in  age.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  reason 
to  conclude  that  this  was  an  exception.  On  the  contrary,  the 
other  companies  had  substantially  the  same  class  of  men  with 
respect  to  age. 

The  most  vivid  and  realistic  reminder  of  the  scenes  and 
experiences  to  which  this  narrative  relates,  that  the  writer  has 
had  since  muster-out,  was  afl'orded  him  by  the  sight  of  a  regi- 
ment of  ruddy-faced,  sweaty  and  dust-covered  state  militia 
which  he  saw  in  a  parade  some  years  since.  They  were  wear- 
ing loose  blouses  and  caps  of  dark   blue,  the  exact  pattern  of 


24  HISTORY    OF    THE 

those  we  wore  so  long,  with   pants  of   light  blue.     They  also 
•carried  Springfield  muskets. 

There  was  a  long  process'on,  composed  of  various  classes  of 
Ynen  and  of  civic  societies,  not  without  interest.  But  when 
this  regiment  of  militia  filed  around  the  corner  and  moved  by, 
with  a  half-careless,  jaunty  grace,  marching  in  a  soldierly  way 
without  any  forced  effort  at  excessive  order,  their  steps  timed 
by  the  playing  of  a  drum  corps,  in  which  were  several  young 
lads,  the  mounted  officers  riding  before  and  behind  the  col- 
umn, and  a  silk,  bullion-fringed  flag,  of  regulation  pattern, 
waving  and  fluttering  over  the  center — a  certain  relic  of  the 
Civil  war  felt  a  violent  thumping  under  his  vest,  as  if  a  steam 
trip-hammer  had  suddenly  ooened  up  business  in  that  quarter. 
He  was  tremendously  impressed  that,  in  many  of  its  features, 
he  had  before  him  what  he  had  never  thought  to  see  again  in 
this  world — the  exact  reproduction  of  the  old  Twenty-seventh 
as  it  was  in  the  days  of  long  ago. 

Some  of  the  officers  of  this  militia  regiment  were  bearded 
men,  one  or  two  being  somewhat  grey  ;  but  the  rank  and  file 
were  simply  boys.  A  very  few  of  them  may  have  been  as  old 
as  twenty-eight,  or  even  thirty,  though  eighteen  to  twenty- 
two  would  have  caught  by  far  the  greater  number ;  and  there 
•were  more  of  them  who  were  below  eighteen  than  there  were 
of  those  above  twenty-five.  That  would  be  the  writer's 
deliberate  judgment  as  to  the  men  composing  the  Twenty- 
seven  tli. 

"Just  at  the  age  'twixt  boy  and  youth, 
When  thought  is  speech  and  speech  is  truth." 

The  departure  from  their  homes  of  the  men  who  went  to 
war,  and  their  final  separation  from  those  near  and  dear,  is  a 
subject  often  mentioned.  No  attempt  will  be  made  to  picture 
these  scenes  in  this  connection.  Individual  cases  differed  as 
widely  as  individual  persons  differ,  in  temperament  and  sur- 
roundings. We,  who  survived,  can  never  forget  either  the 
time  or  place  that  we,  for  the  last  time,  shook  hands  with 
father  or  brothers,  or,  for  the  last  time,  folded  in  our  embrace 
mother,  sister,  sweetheart  or  wife,  and  said  good-bye.  For 
almost  half  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  the  tender,  sacred  memory 
has  been  cherished  and  treasured  through  the  years  by  the 
other  parties  alone.  In  their  cases  the  ones  who  went  away 
did  not  return. 

Most  of  the  companies  were  given  a   warm   send-off   by 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.'^  25 

the  people  of  their  home  towns.  When  they  were  finally 
ordered  in  to  camp,  the  day  of  their  departure  being  an- 
nounced, the  members  of  the  company  assembled,  and  the 
occasion  was  made  one  peculiarly  inspiring  and  impressive. 
The  entire  population  turned  out,  a  public  dinner  was  served 
to  the  company  by  the  ladies,  after  which,  there  was  speaking, 
sometimes  a  flag  presentation,  and  then  the  men  took  their 
departure  amidst  the  booming  of  cannon,  the  waving  of  flags 
and  handkerchiefs,  the  cheers  and  shouts  of  loyal,  warm 
hearted  men  and  women,  and  prayers  and  tears  innumerable. 


CHAPTER  II. 


CAMP  MORTON. 

Our  recollections  of  Camp  ]\Iorton  are  still  vivid.  Many 
things,  as  they  throng  through  our  memories,  are  tender  and 
sacred,  others  are  smile-provoking,  and  some  plague  us  with 
a  sense  of  dissatisfaction  with  ourselves.  We  can  see  plainly- 
enough   now,  that,  while  at  heart  we  were    patriotic    and  had 


HoN.   O.   P.  Morton. 
Indiana's  peerless  war-time  governor. 


good  intentions — perhaps  lofty  intentions — our  conceptions  of 
practical  warfare  and  the  duties  of  a  soldier,  as  well  as  some 
of  our  performances,  were  not  any  too  creditable. 

Camp  Morton  was  simply  the  ground  and  buildings 
where  the  Indiana  State  Fair  was  held  annually.  Its  location 
was  then  some  distance  out  of  Indianapolis,  to  the  northeast, 
but  the  city  has  long  since   spread   over  and   beyond  it.     The 


TWENTY-SEVKNTH    INDIANA.  'J  ^ 

emergency  arising  suddenly,  this  was  doubtless  considered 
the  best  place  avaihible  for  the  rendezvous  of  volunteers.  Its 
name  was  that  of  Indiana's  great  war  governor.  The  build- 
ings in  the  fair  grounds  had  never  been  very  good  ones.  At  this 
time  few  changes  had  been  made  in  any  of  their  appointments, 
A  cleaning  up,  not  any  too  thorough,  with  the  possible  addi- 
tion of  some  floors  and  platforms,  to  facilitate  the  sleeping  of 
the  men,  were  the  sum  total  of  visible  alterations.  Embryo  sol- 
diers had  their  quarters  in  stalls  and  pens  built  for  horses, 
cattle  and  swine,  and  in  the  halls  provided  for  other  exhibits. 
The  speed  ring,  where  the  swift-goers  had  won  purses  or 
made  records,  were  now  appropriated  by  stalwart  young 
patriots,  learn'ng  military  evolutions. 

The  comforts  of  Camp  Morton  were  meager.  Men  were 
furnished  no  bedding.  Those  who  had  brought  none  from 
home,  as  the  writer  and  many  others  had  not,  did  largely 
without.  A  part  only  of  the  sleeping  places  were  provided 
with  anything  softer  than  lumber.  The  writer  first  had  his 
quarters  in  a  horse  stall  where  there  was  straw,  not  any  too 
clean  or  pleasant  smelling.  Later  a  change  in  his  relations 
brought  him  into  another  building,  where,  with  only  one 
ragged,  cotton  comfort,  he  slept  upon  bare  boards.  His  was 
no  exceptional  experience.  Perhaps  the  original  plans  con- 
cerning the  two  places  were  still  the  controlling  factors. 
When  a  man  occupied  a  horse  stall  it  was  all  right  for  him 
to  be  bedded  with  straw,  but  when  he  took  the  place  of  a  jar 
of  preserves  or  a  pumpkin,  consistency  required  that  he  should 
deport  himself  upon  a  bare  shelf. 

The  matter  uppermost  in  all  our  minds  after  our  arrival 
in  Camp  Morton  was  our  muster  into  the  United  States  serv- 
ice. The  mustering  officer  then  on  duty  in  Indianapolis  was 
Maj.  T.  J.  Wood,  of  the  regular  arniy,  afterwards  a  major- 
general  of  volunteers.  He  must  have  been  a  very  busy  man 
during  those  days,  as  the  position  he  occupied  was  a  most 
onerous  and  responsible  one.  He  usually  came  to  camp  every 
day ;  sometimes  working  all  day  and  into  the  night.  Tlie 
method  was  simple.  There  was  no  examination  by  medical 
experts.  The  company  or  squad  seeking  muster  was  formed 
in  line  and  the  mustering  officer  used  his  best  judgment,  after 
carefully  looking  the  men  over,  as  to  their  physical  qualifica- 
tions. He  passed  slowly  along  the  line,  first  in  front,  then  in 
the    rear,  scrutinizing    critically  each    recruit.      He   next    sta- 


28  HISTORY    OF    THE 

tioned  himself  at  the  head  of  the  line  and,  the  roll  being 
called,  each  recruit,  as  his  name  was  pronounced,  stepped  a 
few  paces  to  the  front.  This  gave  the  inajor  an  opportunity, 
not  only  to  note  the  presence  of  each  one  but  also  to  detect 
any  lameness  or  defect  in  movement.  To  those  who  \vere 
accepted  the  usual  oath  was  at  once  administered.  The  mus- 
tering officer  took  a  position  directly  in  front  of  the  line,  and 
taking  off  his  hat  raised  his  right  hand  and  instructed  the 
men  to  do  likewise.  He  then  repeated  the  oath  in  measured, 
serious  tones,  and  at  the  conclusion,  asked  the  men  if  each  and 
all  assented,  to  which  each  responded,  "I  do!  "  Ivlost  of  us 
considered  the  taking  of  the  oath  a  very  impressive  ceremony, 
and  indeed  it  should  be. 

Even  under  such  a  cursory  physical  examination  a  con- 
siderable number  were  rejected,  which  was  always  a  sore  dis- 
appointment. To  avoid  this  various  devices  were  resorted  to. 
Grey  hair  was  snugly  dyed  ;  beard  betraying  age  was  closely 
shaved  ;  arms  were  held  near  the  body  to  conceal  crooks  or 
other  defects,  and  fists  were  deftly  closed  that  the  major's 
keen  eyes  might  not  detect  the  absence  of  fingers.  More 
commonly,  hollow  chests  were  enlarged  by  increased  clothing, 
and  boys  stretched  themselves  to  the  utmost,  or  stood  on  tip 
toe,  to  make  up  for  lack  of  size  and  age. 

If  rejected  once,  men  hardly  ever  gave  up  without  a  sec- 
ond, or  even  a  third  or  fourth  trial.  For  this  purpose  they 
appeared  with  another  batch  of  recruits,  sometimes  in  another 
company.  If  the  mustering  officer  came  to  camp  late,  or  was 
obliged  to  continue  his  work  until  darkness  came  on,  it  was  a 
favorable  opportunity  for  these  questionable  cases.  In  some 
instances  men  were  thus  accepted  after  two  or  three  previous 
rejections,  and  they  made  the  hardiest  of  soldiers. 

It  is  alleged  that  certain  of  the  boys  who  were  under  the 
minimum  age  put  the  figures  18  in  their  shoes,  and,  when 
asked  how  old  they  were,  answered  innocently,  "  I  am  over 
eighteen."  The  writer  was  not  smart  enough  to  think  of  such 
a  clever  expedient.  When  he  was  mustered  Major  Wood 
stopped  in  front  of  him,  and,  laying  one  of  his  hands  on  each 
of  the  writer's  shoulders,  asked  kindly,  "  Bub,  how  old  are 
you.'"  Of  course  the  answer  had  to  be  "  eighteen,"  even  if 
it  was  "  stretching  the  blanket."  More  boys  were  doubtless 
accepted  at  this  time  and  there  was  more  looseness  and  irregu- 
larities of  other  kinds,  not  only  because  of  the  urgent  need  of 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  2& 

soldiers,  but  because  of  the  apathy  and  disloyalty  of  so  many 
parents.  When  a  man  was  even  suspected  of  lacking  in 
hearty  allegiance  to  the  country,  if  his  boy  wanted  to  go  into 
the  army,  everything  was  done  that  could  be  to  favor  him. 
After  finally  being  mustered  into  the  service,  it  was  almost 
impossible  for  us  to  possess  our  souls  in  any  kind  of  patience. 
There  was  an  anxiety  and  restlessness  about  us  almost  beyond 
control.  Our  strongest  desire  was  to  go  to  the  front.  Since 
actual  war  existed  and  we  were  really  in  the  army,  why  not 
put  in  our  whole  time  in  fighting.  Preposterous  as  it  may  now 
seem,  some  of  us  were  afraid,  even  at  this  period,  that  the 
war  would  be  over  before  we  would  get  to  take  any  part  in  it. 
Perhaps  our  next  highest  ambitions  in  their  order  was  to 
go  home  on  a  furlough  and  go  out  into  the  city,  to  see  what  we 
could  see.  Being  thwarted  in  our  yearning  to  revel  in  scenes 
of  desperate  daring  and  awful  bloodshed,  we  could  not  think 
that  there  was  anything  else  to  do  but  have  a  good  time  some- 
where. It  requires  a  long  while  and  alas!  some  bitter  expeii- 
ences  for  a  raw  recruit  to  learn  the  priceless  value  of  drill  and 
discipline.  To  go  home  one  needed  a  furlough,  and  these  were 
necessarily  limited,  both  as  to  number  and  duration.  Most  of 
the  companies  were  furloughed  home  in  a  body,  for  a  short 
time,  after  being  mustered  in,  and  nearly  all  individuals  who 
applied  later  got  an  additional  furlough  for  a  few  days.  But 
the  range  in  that  direction  was,  in  the  nature  of  things,  re- 
stricted. Not  so  with  visiting  the  city.  Every  day  a  large 
number  from  each  company  were  allowed  passes.  Company 
commanders  wrote  them,  and  to  be  good  at  the  gate  they  had 
to  be  approved  at  camp  headquarters.  In  addition  to  this 
method  of  getting  out  of  camp,  "running  the  guard"  was  ex- 
tensively practiced.  To  leap  over  the  fence  and  be  off  for  a 
season  of  frolic  or  sightseeing  was  but  the  work  of  a  moment, 
attended  with  few  unpleasant  consequences.  That  method 
was  often  preferred  over  asking  for  a  pass,  and  usually  resorted 
to  if  a  pass  was  denied.  It  was  not  difficult  to  jump  over  the 
fence  anywhere,  while  the  guard's  back  was  turned,  and  be 
away  before  he  could  force  a  halt.  But  the  point  mostly 
chosen  to  run  the  guard  was  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
camp.  There  the  quarters  of  the  men  joined  the  fence,  so  the 
guards  could  not  halt  or  challenge  the  truant  until  he  was  well 
started,  and  once  outside,  a  short  run  over  low  ground  brought 
him  under  cover  of  timber.     The  spectacle  of  one  or  more  men 


go  HISTORY    OF    THE 

dashing  furiously  across  that  open  space,  with  all  the  guards 
in  the  vicinity  shouting  "  Corporal  of  the  guard"  etc.,  etc.,  is 
well  remembered.  There  were  no  patrols  or  provost  guards  in 
the  city  at  that  time.  In  a  few  instances  guard-breakers  were 
pursued  and  caught.  In  more,  the  guards  were  doubled  and 
they  were  arrested  on  their  return.  The  punishment,  however, 
was  seldom  severe  enough  to  be  more  than  a  joke. 

A  limited  amount  of  drill  without  arms  and  an  occasional 
turn  at  standing  guard,  was  all  the  duty  required  of  us  here. 
On  guard  we  were  commonly  armed  with  inferior  muskets, 
but  sometimes  with  only  a  club.  Drill  was  about  the  same  as 
voluntary.  Anyone  who  did  not  want  to  drill  could  avoid 
most  of  it  with  little  difficulty.  Very  trivial  excuses  were 
accepted.  Still,  there  were  so  many  in  the  camp  that,  an}^ 
pleasant  day,  all  the  available  drill  ground  was  occupied.  It 
is  due  to  most  of  those  who  afterward  became  the  best  soldiers 
and  most  efficient  officers  of  the  regiment  to  say,  that  even  at 
this  period,  they  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  drill.  It  was 
not  unusual  for  some  to  drill  more  than  the  regulations  of  the 
camp  required.  As  we  close  our  eyes  now  in  reflection,  we 
can  see  numberless  squads  and  bands  of  men  standing  erect  in 
line,  or  marching  and  wheeling  here  and  there  ;  and  we  can 
hear  a  hundred  drill  masters  as,  with  lusty  voices,  in  staccato 
tones  they  command,  "Right  dress,"  "Back  in  the  center," 
^'Forward,  march,"  "Halt,"  "  Left,  left,  left,"  "  One,  two, 
three,  four,"  etc. 

There  was  some  additional  delay  at  Camp  ^lorton  because 
some  of  the  companies  were  not  full.  A  few  men  had  been 
rejected,  others  had  gone  off  disappointed  at  not  getting  the 
offices  they  aspired  to,  while  still  others  had  quietly  flunked 
out,  after  a  short  taste  of  camp  life.  Diligent  efforts  were 
being  made  by  men  furloughed  home  to  supply  these  vacancies. 
Two  or  three  other  regiments  were  also  being  organized  in 
the  camp  at  the  same  time.  Recruits  were  therefore  arriving 
constantly.  They  came  in  squads,  platoons  and  companies, 
jMany  came  with  noisy  demonstrations,  the  larger  companies 
often  being  accompanied  by  drum  corps,  and  carrying  flags 
and  banners.  Prominent  among  such  arrivals  was  August 
Willich,  with  his  company  of  Germans.  He  afterward  be- 
came a  brigadier-general. 

A  large  nunber  of  civilians  visited  Camp  Morton,  both 
men  and  women.     Many  of  them  were  friends  of  the  soldiers 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  31 

who  came  to  see  them  before  their  departure  to  the  front. 
Some  were  persons  called  to  Indianapolis  on  business  and  who 
wanted  to  see  the  camp,  out  of  curiosity.  Excursions  \vere 
run  by  the  railroads  and  on  certain  days  large  numbers  of 
people  came  from  particular  localities  to  visit  particular  com- 
panies. An  instance  of  this  kind  the  writer  knows  of,  but  has 
not  been  able  to  resurrect  the  facts  in  detail.  The  people  of 
Edinburg  and  vicinity  came  on  a  day  appointed  beforehand 
to  serve  Company  C  a  luxurious  dinner  and  present  the  com- 
pany with  a  flag.  Many  survivors  of  the  regiment  will  re- 
member the  flag.  It  was  the  regimental  flag  at  the  outset  and 
was  of  fine  gros  grain  silk,  with  gold  bullion  fringe.  It  was 
so  badly  torn  at  Cedar  Mountain  that  it  was  not  used  as  a 
regimental  flag  after  that. 

These  frequent  accessions  to  our  numbers,  as  well  as  the 
steady  stream  of  coming  and  going  of  those  already  attached 
to  the  camp  and  of  visitors,  imparted  a  peculiar  interest  to  the 
gate  of  the  camp.  It  always  furnished  a  vent  to  our  pent  up 
emotions  and  enabled  us  to  pass  away  an  hour  easily  by  loiter- 
ing around  the  gate,  joining  in  its  gossip  and  witnessing  its 
stirring  incidents. 

All  and  in  all,  we  imagined  we  were  rendering  great  serv- 
ice to  our  troubled  country.  We  believed  we  were  acting 
warlike  and  were  sure  that  we  looked  like  very  bold  soldiers. 
We  wrote  numerous  long  epistles  home,  enlarging  upon  "  life 
in  the  army." 

But,  in  his  first  attempts  at  playing  soldier,  the  enlisted 
man,  whatever  his  verdancy  or  his  vanity,  is  no  sort  of  match 
for  the  inexperienced  officer.  The  first  lacks  opportunity  and 
something  also  of  equipment;  a  commissioned  ofiicer  only  can 
spread  himself  sufficiently  to  make  a  record.  To  say  that 
many  persons  with  no  military  experience,  or  barely  enough 
to  give  them  a  severe  enlargement  of  the  craniun,  as  a  slight 
military  experience  is  almost  sure  to  do — to  say  that  such  a 
person,  when  turned  loose  in  a  camp  of  soldiers,  armed  with 
a  commission,  a  cheap,  new  uniform,  glittering  shouldei  straps, 
sword  and  sash,  with  a  navy  revolver  tugging  at  his  belt,  cuts 
a  broad  swath,  is  putting  the  case  very  mildly.  He  not  only 
has  a  seven-foot  cut,  with  a  self-binder  and  bundle-carrying 
attachment,  but  is  also  a  stacker  and  thrasher  as  well.  There 
is  no  room  for  anybody  else  in  the  field.  His  very  severe, 
truly  war-like  cast  of  countenance;  his  vainglorious,  toploftical 


82  HISTORY    OK    THE 

strut ;  his  furious,  high-wrought  attempts  at  giving  the  regu- 
lation salute  and  in  voicing  his  first  commands  ;  his  hasty, 
offensive  and  wrongful  assumption  of  authority — these  and 
many  other  things,  it  requires  no  great  strain  of  memory  to 
recall.  There  was  some  of  it  at  Camp  Morton.  Most  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  officers  had  rather  a  mild  attack  of  the  lunacy, 
others  escaped  it  entirely.  Those  who  had  it  worst  were  de- 
cidedly convalescent  after  a  few  weeks  of  real  service. 

Most  of  us  had  our  first  experience  in  cooking  at  Camp 
Morton,  as  well  as  our  first  trial  at  eating  Uncle  Sam's  delica- 
cies. As  a  rule  we  had  been  brought  up  to  have  almost  any- 
thing we  liked  best  in  the  way  of  substantial  food,  and  had  had 
it  prepared  in  a  way  to  tempt  the  palate  of  a  king.  Few  people 
the  world  over  have  a  more  liberal  or  varied  store  o  draw  from, 
and  none  know  better  how  to  cook,  than  the  mothers,  wives 
and  daughters  of  our  bounteous  Hoosier  State.  Blessings  on 
them !  Some  of  us  are  conscience  stricken  to  the  present  hour 
that  we  had  not  appreciated  them  more,  without  the  necessity 
of  such  a  severe  lesson.  When  we  came  to  stand  before  the 
fire,  our  eyes  filled  with  smoke,  if  not  with  genuine  tears, 
overwhelmed  with  doubt  and  perplexity  as  to  what  to  do  and 
how  to  do  it,  many  a  spoiled  boy  and  some  spoiled  husbands 
experienced  a  sudden  and  violent  taking  down,  whose  benefit, 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  has  been  permanent. 

There  was  no  such  thing  as  a  cook  house  or  mess  tent  at 
Camp  Morton.  Rations  of  pork,  beans,  rice,  sugar,  coffee, 
molasses  and  bread  were  issued  ;  a  sufficient  number  of  sheet- 
iron  kettles  and  frying  pans  were  provided,  together  with 
seasoned  cord  wood,  and  the  men  were  expected  to  do  the 
rest.  There  was  some  slight  pressure  or  suggestion  in  the 
way  of  forming  men  of  the  same  company  into  small  messes 
of,  say,  SIX  to  ten  men  each,  though  there  was  nothing  binding 
about  that.  If  an  individual  wanted  his  rations  apportioned 
to  himself  alone,  as  was  the  case  with  a  few,  it  was  done. 

There  is  no  instance  recorded  or  remembered  where  any- 
one either  asked  for  or  received  any  instructions  in  the  culinary 
art.  If  war  was  to  break  out  in  these  latter  days  there  would 
be  myriads  of  cook  books  and  recipes  on  sale  immediately, 
covering  the  whole  ground.  The  sum  total  of  human  knowl- 
edge and  experience  relative  to  the  cooking  and  compounding 
of  such  articles  of  food  as  are  issued  to  soldiers,  in  order  to 
make  them  palatable  and  wholesome,  could  be  bought  for  five 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  33 

cents.  Not  so  then.  Not  so  to  the  end  of  the  Civil  war.  as 
far  as  the  writer  is  advised.  What  was  more  strange,  no 
attention  was  given  to  the  subject  by  the  medical  department 
of  the  army.  The  matter  of  the  proper  disposition  of  slops 
and  refuse  was  looked  after  later  on,  but  not  here.  Possibly 
it  was  not  considered  necessary  here,  the  fact  being  taken  for 
granted  that  the  men  would  live  principally  on  slops  and  refuse 
anyway.  In  the  messes  each  member  took  his  turn  in  prepar- 
ing meals.  When  one's  turn  came  he  simply  went  to  his  task 
and,  over  an  open  fire,  out  of  doors,  with  what  native  sense  or 
ingenuity  he  possessed,  or  guided  by  what  he  could  remember 
of  seeing  his  mother  or  wife  do,  he  prepared  the  meal.  To 
make  idols  of  some  of  those  compounds  and  bow  down  to 
them  and  worship  them  would  not  violate  the  Second  Com- 
mandment. They  were  not  graven  images,  and  neither  were 
they  likenesses  of  any  thing  that  is  in  the  heavens  above,  or 
in  the  earth  beneath,  or  in  the  waters  under  the  earth.  Ugh! 
The  fact  so  tersely  expressed  in  the  Latin  proverb  alone  saved 
us  :     '•  A  keen  appetite  is  the  best  seasoning." 

In  course  of  time,  at  Camp  Morton,  in  one  of  the  messes, 
it  came  Jack's  turn  to  cook  the  dinner.  For  that  reason  he 
was  excused  from  drill.  He  was  called  "Jack,"'  by  the  way, 
not  because  his  mother  had  named  him  that,  nor  because  she  had 
named  him  John.  He  was  given  the  name  after  his  arrival  in 
camp  because  of  the  striking  resemblance  everyone  thought  he 
bore  to  the  Jack  of  Clubs,  and  as  long  as  he  remained  witli 
the  company  he  never  heard  any  other  name.  While  out  on 
the  drill  ground  the  horrible  suggestion  came  to  some  one  that 
Jack  might  forget  or  neglect  to  hand-pick  the  beans  before 
cooking  them.  He  had  been  found  careless  on  some  points, 
such  as  using  the  frying  pan  without  washing  it  after  yes- 
terday's use,  wiping  the  knives,  forks  and  tin  cups  with 
something  strongly  resembling  his  dirty  pocket-handkerchief, 
using  water  for  making  coffee  that  had  stood  in  a  camp  kettle 
over  night,  etc.  This  suspicion  concerning  the  beans  was 
mentioned  to  others  and  a  lively  interest  was  at  once  awakened 
concerning  Jack's  movements.  No  sooner  was  drill  over, 
therefore,  than  the  mess  hastened  with  one  accord  to  learn  the 
facts.  It  was  all  too  true !  With  great  satisfaction  Jack 
announced  that  dinner  was  all  ready  ;  but  he  said  he  had  not 
noticed  anything  wrong  with  the  beans.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
that  lot  of  beans   had  a  good  many  rotten  and  mouldy  ones 


34 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


among  them,  and  the  honest  farmer  had  permitted  his  hens  to 
add  somewhat  to  their  quantity  in  a  way  not  calculated  to 
improve  their  quality.  But  the  mischief  was  done,  and  with 
that  mess  it  was  those  beans  or  no  dinner.  They  had  their 
dinners. 


J 


Sergt,   a.   R.  Vaxsickle,   Co.  (j. 

SHOWING    OUR    first    UXIFOKM. 


On  September  10,  our  uniforms  finally  came.  We  had 
been  anxious  to  have  them  and  almost  ran  over  each  other  to 
be  served  first.  We  thought  them  magnificent.  All  who 
could  possibly  do  so  obtained    furloughs    home  at    once   that 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  35 

their  friends,  particularly  their  sweethearts,  might  see  them 
arrayed  in  their  military  clothes.  But  our  anxiety  to  have  a 
uniform  and  our  over-estimate  of  their  beauty  in  general,  had 
led  us  astray.  It  did  not  take  us  long  to  find  out  that  those 
were  a  bad  fraud,  and  that  in  them  we  cut  a  figure  verging 
close  to  the  ridiculous.  They  consisted  of  a  pea-jacket,  cap 
and  pants,  all  dark  blue.*  Imagine  the  appearance  of  a  thou- 
sand men,  mostly  young,  but  quite  a  few  ranging  from  twenty- 
five  to  thirty-five,  clothed  in  little  coats  the  length  of  an  ordi- 
nary vest  and  wearing  diminitive  skull  caps,  barely  large 
enough  to  perch  on  the  top  of  their  heads.  And  remember, 
that  the  jacket,  pants  and  caps  are  all  not  far  from  the  same 
size  and  length,  while  the  men  differ  greatly  in  these  respects. 
This  gives  one  a  coat  coming  well  down  to  the  crotch,  but  at 
the  same  time  gives  him  too  much  waist  measure,  almost 
enough  to  go  around  him  twice.  The  coat  of  another  comes 
but  little  below  his  arms  and  when  he  buttons  it,  it  squeezes 
him  until  he  is  red  in  the  face.  The  same  is  true  of  the  pants. 
Misfits  and  disproportions  hold  high  carnival,  while  the 
quality  of  the  clothes  was  coarse  and  the  workmanship 
extremely  rough. 

But  those  uniforms  did  gloriously  at  Camp  ^Morton  com- 
pared with  their  behavior  afterwards,  when  we  got  our  accou- 
trements. There  was  no  strap  or  nib  on  the  jacket  anywhere 
to  prevent  the  belt  from  slipping  down,  when  weighted  by 
the  bayonet  and  cartridge  box.  And,  slipping  b  low  the 
jacket,  the  belt  rested  its  weight  on  the  pants,  which  in  turn 
sagged  them  down  until  a  goodly  expanse  of  the  nether  gar- 
ment appeared  between  pants  and  jacket.  The  neat  and 
soldier-like  ( ?)  aspect  of  the  regiment  on  battalion  drill  and 
review,  as  well  as  the  personal  comfort  of  those  concerned, 
can  easily  be  inferred. 

The  writer  is  thoroughly  convinced  of  two  facts  pertain- 
ing to  Camp  Morton.  One  is  that  the  pine  or  poplar  boards 
upon  which  we  slept  there  were  of  some  rare  species,  with  no 
more  like  them  anywhere,  harder  than  any  live  oak  or  coco- 
bolo.  The  other  is  that  those  August  nights  were  not  far 
above  the  temperature  of  an  average  polar  winter.  After  the 
extended  experience  of  sleeping  on  the  cold,  wet  clay  of  Mary- 


*So  thought  the  writer  and  most  others,  when  this  was  written, 
sonie  years  ago;  portraits  of  the  bt)ys  taken  at  the  time  clearly  proved 
this  to  have  been  an  error;  the  pants  were  light  blue. 


36  HISTORY    OF    THE 

liind  and  Virginia  and  suffering  as  often  as  we  did  from  the 
creases  and  welts  made  in  our  anatomies  by  extemporized 
mattresses  of  coarse  cedar  and  pine  boughs,  even  a  smooth 
oak  plank  seemed  to  have  a  soft  side,  and  to  this  day,  when, 
occasion  requires,  it  is  no  hardship  to  sleep  on  the  floor.  But 
the  w^ay  those  boards  at  Camp  Morton  made  themselves  felt 
can  never  be  forgotton.  Likewise,  later  o^ ,  to  sleep  out  in 
the  open  air,  under  the  shining  stars  or  a  leaden  sky,  covered 
only  by  a  single  blanket,  with  hoar  frost  or  snow  and  the 
ground  frozen  next  morning,  was  comfort  and  luxury  com- 
pared with  those  shivering  nights  at  Indianapolis. 


CHAPTER  III. 


CAMP  MORTON  TO  WASHINGTON. 

One  day  two  strange  officers  came  into  Camp  Morton, 
mounted.  One  was  rather  an  elderly  man,  below  medium 
size,  light  built,  dark  complected,  and  had  short,  black  whis- 
kers. The  other  was  younger,  not  far  from  forty,  not  above 
medium  height,  but  of  good  weight,  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  pounds,  anyway.  He  was  not  what  would  be  called  a 
military-looking  man,  much  less  one  to  put  on  airs ;  but 
withal,  a  prepossessing  officer;  rather  quiet  and  undemonstra- 
tive in  manner,  yet  evidently  accustomed  to  taking  care  of 
himself.  He  was  not  forbidding  in  his  bearing,  still  he  had 
that  about  him  which  would  at  once  convince  any  one  that  he 
was  not  a  man  to  take  liberties  with.  Very  few  would  risk 
the  chance  of  pulling  his  nose,  though  it  was  common  for  him 
to  pull  it  himself.  Like  David,  the  soldier-king  of  sacred  his- 
tory, he  was  "of  a  ruddy  countenance" — particularly  as  to 
his  hair  and  whiskers. 

The  first-mentioned  officer  was  recognized  by  some  of  our 
number  as  Colonel  Benton,  of  the  Eighth  Indiana,  which  was 
encamped  at  another  point  near  the  city,  about  ready  for  the 
field,  as  reorganized  for  three  years.  The  other  had  been  the 
lieutenant  colonel  of  that  regiment  in  the  three  months'  serv- 
ice. Following  closely  upon  this  information  was  the  addi- 
tional news  that  this  last  had  been,  or  was  about  to  be,  ap- 
pointed the  colonel  of  our  regiment.  That  was  the  first  sight 
to  most  of  us  of  Silas  Colgrove.  With  his  appearance  in  this 
narrative  the  play  of  Hamlet  is  no  longer  without  Hamlet 
himself.  Without  Colonel  Colgrove  there  would  certainly 
have  been  a  Twenty-seventh  regiment,  and  that  regiment 
would  doubtless  have  had  a  history.  But  the  history  as  it  is 
bears  his  impress  to  a  very  marked  degree.  He  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  regiment  at  once.  The  next  evening  he  came 
out  to  camp  and  ordered  it  out  for  dress  parade.  There  had 
been  dress  parade  in  the  camp  regularly  each  evening  before 
that,  and  all  the  organized  companies  had  participated.      But 


38 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


this  was  the  first  time  the  ten  companies  comprising  the 
Twenty-seventh  held  dress  parade  by  themselves.  The  line 
was  formed  in  the  open  ground  immediately  north  of  the  main 
entrance  to  Camp  JNIorton  and  facing  towards  it.  Colonel  Col- 
grove  has  since  told  us  how  deeply  he  himself  was  impressed 
at  that  time.  The  number  of  the  men,  their  great  average 
height,  the  length  of  the  line  as   it  stretched  out  to    the    right 


Gen.  Silas  Colgrove. 

ONLY    colonel    OY    2TtII     INDIANA. 

and  left ;  particularly  the  thought  of  what  had  brought  the 
men  together  and  what  was  to  be  their  fate,  and  his  responsi- 
bility concerning  them,  in  the  trying,  deadly  days  to  come, 
were  matters  that  wrought  upon  him  with  great  force. 

It  is  not  known  what  influences  led  Governor  Morton  to 
appoint    Colonel  Colgrove  to  the   command  of  the  Twenty- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


39 


seventh.  The  Colonel  says  himself  he  never  solicited  the 
place,  and  never  knew  of  anyone  doing  so  in  his  behalf.  He 
was  expecting  to  go  out  with  the  Eighth  again,  until  he 
received  notice  of  his  promotion.  At  the  same  time  I.  I. 
Harrison  was  appointed  lieutenant-colonel.  He  had  been 
offered  the  position  of  major  previous  to  this,  and  had 
declined  it.      He  had  been  the  adjutant  of  the  Eighth. 

Both  appointments  were  good  ones,  and  if  any  objections 
were  raised  to  them  in  any  quarter  the  fact  w'as  not  generally 
known.      Following   immediately    after    these  appointments, 


Capt.  Wellman,   Co.  K. 

AFTERWARDS    SURGEON    9tH 
IND.    CAVALRY. 


Ma  J.    John  ^lLiiu,.>oi.i;. 

AFTERWARDS    COL.    91ST    IND. 
AND    BREVET    BRIG.    GEN. 


John  Mehringer,  captain  of  Company  K,  was  appointed  major  ; 
J.  J.  Johnson,  captain  of  Company  G,  was  appointed  surgeon  ; 
Rev.  T.  E.  Whitted,  was  appointed  chaplain,  and  Sergt.  R. 
B.  Gilmore,  of  Company  A,  was  appointed  adjutant — all  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  line  officers  of  the  regiment.  J. 
M.  Jamison  also  received  the  appointment  of  quartermaster, 
and  Dr.  G.  V.  Woollen  that  of  assistant  surgeon. 

The  second  day  after  Colonel  Colgrove  took  command  of 
the  regiment  we  removed  from  Camp  Morton  and  established 


40  HISTORY    OF    THE 

a  camp  by  ourselves.  That  was  our  first  march,  before 
alluded  to.  The  Indianapolis  papers  had  usually  published 
notices  of  new  regiments  passing  through  the  city,  comp'i- 
nienting  them  on  their  fine  appearance,  soldierly  bearing, 
military  maneuvers,  etc.,  etc.,  so  we  made  frantic  eflForts  to 
merit  similar  compliments.  With  the  verdancy  of  all  begin- 
ners in  militarv  experience,  almost  every  private,  as  well  as 
every  ofticer,  considered  himself  especially  appointed  to  see 
that  his  neighbors  walked  erect,  kept  the  step,  and  in  all 
other  respects  exhibited  themselves  properly.  After  we 
started,  a  shower  of  rain  came  on,  and  we  put  the  oilcloth 
covers  over  our  caps ;  these  had  long  aprons  falling  down 
behind,  designed  to  keep  the  water  off  of  our  necks.  In  that 
kind  of  "  gear "  we  passed  through  the  city.  Strange  to 
relate,  we  searched  in  vain  for  the  expected  compliments  in 
the  papers.  We  did  not  understand  then  that  such  things 
W'Cre  always  furnished  ready-made  by  some  member  of  the 
regiment  concerned. 

Our  new  camp  near  White  river  was  christened  Camp 
Morris.  That  was  our  first  experience  of  living  in  tents  and 
sleeping  on  the  ground.  Our  introduction  to  tent  life  and  to 
ISIother  Earth  as  a  bed  was  rather  severe,  as  it  rained  most  of 
the  time  we  were  there.  We  do  not  remember  that  anything 
else  was  particularly  disagreeable,  except  the  mud  about 
camp.  That  was  ankle  deep.  Here  was  also  the  first  oppor- 
tunity the  different  companies  had  had  of  seeing  much  of  each 
other.  Before  this  the  quarters  had  been  too  far  apart  to  pro- 
mote acquaintance  or  sociability.  Now  we  had  barely  the 
proper  company  distances.  It  was  a  source  of  amusement 
w^hich  continued  for  a  long  time,  for  the  ditTerent  companies 
to  listen  to  each  other's  roll-call.  Many  names  seemed  very 
odd  to  those  not  accustomed  to  hearing  them.  To  add  to 
this,  the  orderly-sergeant  called  no  given  names.  When  more 
than  one  of  the  same  name  were  in  a  company  they  were 
designated  and  called  by  number,  as  Brown  Jirsf,  Brown  sec- 
ond, etc.  Then,  they  were  all  called  with  astonishing  rapid- 
ity. A  company  had  no  use  for  an  orderly  who  could  not 
call  the  roll  as  fast  as  chain  lightning.  To  listen  to  a  roll 
called  in  that  way,  plentifully  interspersed  with  such  names 
as  Clapsaddle,  Cutsinger,  Fiddler,  Parham,  Straddley,  Tug- 
gall,  Tadlock,  etc.,  sometimes  striking  a  name  and  reeling  off 
as  many  as  to  the  sixth  was,  in  the  estimation  of  many,  equal 
to  a  circus. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  41 

The  first  night  after  our  arrival  at  Camp  Morris,  an  event 
occurred  which  gave  the  Twenty-seventh  an  unenviable  no- 
toriety and  secured  for  it  about  the  only  extended  notice  the 
Indianapolis  papers  ever  gave  it,  at  this  stage  of  its  service. 
It  was  also  understood  to  have  shortened  materially  its  stay  in 
the  city. 

Across  the  street,  east  of  the  camp,  were  a  few  one-story 
frame  houses,  in  one  of  which  was  kept  a  saloon  and  small 
stock  of  groceries,  the  proprietor  being  rather  a  raw  German, 
We  were  obliged  to  go  to  the  wells  at  these  houses  for  water, 
and  to  have  so  many  neighbors  using  his  pump  was  not  sat- 
isfactory to  the  saloon  and  grocery  keeper.  Accordingly, 
about  dark,  he  chained  up  his  pump,  fastening  it  with  a  lock, 
and  forbade  all  soldiers  coming  on  his  premises.  Without 
knowing  of  this,  some  of  the  men  went  there  after  water, 
to  find  themselves  ordered  away  with  many  oaths  and  im 
precations  upon  their  devoted  heads.  Not  only  this,  but,  in 
reply  to  their  mild  assertions  that  they  had  come  for  water 
without  knowing  that  he  had  prohibited  such  a  course,  he  flew 
into  a  passion,  ran  and  got  a  revolver  and,  with  very  little 
farther  provocation,  fired  it  two  or  three  times,  whether  at  the 
men  or  only  in  the  air  to  frighten  them,  could  not  be  seen. 
Moreover,  his  vile  tongue  once  loose,  he  inveighed  against  all 
Union  soldiers  as  a  class  and  against  the  cause  in  which  they 
were  enlisted,  even  applying  some  desperate  epithets  to 
President  Lincoln  and  others  in  authority. 

As  these  things  were  reported  in  camp,  it  was  no  trouble 
at  all  to  raise  a  crowd,  which  proceeded  to  "  clean  him  out." 
His  windows  were  riddled  with  stones,  his  doors  were  broken 
to  pieces  and  his  stock  in  trade  was  carried  away  and  de- 
stroyed. Colonel  Colgrove  was  absent  at  the  time,  as  were  also 
most  of  the  officers.  Those  present  made  ineffectual  efforts 
to  prevent  the  violence.  Not  a  quarter  of  the  men  took  any 
part  in  it.  Yet  the  regiment  as  a  whole  was  censured.  The 
report  went  out  that  the  Twenty-seventh  was  composed  of 
lawless  men  and  toughs.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  was  not 
the  slightest  notion  of  plunder,  or  the  least  thought  of  vio- 
lating law  connected  with  the  matter.  The  first  man  to  enter 
the  house  took  nothing  for  himself  except  a  few  sticks  of 
•candy.  Those  who  did  what  was  done  really  did  it  for  the 
same  reason  that  they  afterwards  fought  at  Gettvsburg  and  on 
nearly  twenty  other  battlefields.      It   was  done   because    they 


42  HISTORY    OF    THE 

felt  in  honor  bound  to  do  it.  They  Iiad  enlisted  to  suppress 
disloyalty,  and  when  it  was  flaunted  in  their  very  faces  what 
could  they  do  less?  After  the  lapse  of  these  years,  the  writer 
is  not  yet  ready  to  condemn  them.  On  the  contrary,  he,  in 
common  with  many  soldiers,  has  been  unable  to  rid  himself 
of  the  conviction  that,  if  vastly  more  of  that  kind  of  work  had 
been  done  in  such  cases,  early  in  the  war,  its  duration  and 
cruelties  might  have  been  greatly  abridged. 

We  remained  at  Camp  Morris  but  five  days,  though, 
looking  back  at  this  date,  the  time  seems  longer.  The  same 
is  true  of  all  our  early  camps.  We  were  under  such  a  high 
pressure  of  expectancy  and  restlessness  that  the  time  passed 
very  slowly.  We  were  at  fever  heat  during  these  days  over 
our  approaching  departure  for  the  seat  of  war.  That  we 
were  about  to  be  sent  somewhere  seemed  evident.  The  ques- 
tion was,  where  and  to  what  destiny.?  The  majority  of  the 
regiment  favored  the  East,  the  vicinity  of  Washington,  in- 
stead of  Missouri.  This  was  a  fair  illustration  of  how  little  a 
soldier  can  foresee  as  to  what  will  prove  best  for  him.  Mis- 
souri would  have  given  us  a  much  more  agreeable  service, 
among  Western  troops,  with  a  smaller  death  rate.  We  all 
saw  this  later.  Once  we  received  orders  at  Camp  Morris  to 
cook  rations  and  be  ready  to  move  on  short  notice,  but  the 
notice  did  not  come.  In  the  meantime  we  drew  brogans  — 
those  broad-soled,  big-heeled  shoes  which  proved  such  invalu- 
able friends  to  the  soldiers.  We  also  drew  overcoats  and 
canteens. 

Here,  also,  must  have  occurred  our  formal  muster-in  to 
the  United  States  service.  The  Indiana  adjutant-general's 
report  shows  this  to  have  been  on  September  12th.  The  writer 
has  a  dim  recollection  of  the  companies  being  called  into  line 
while  at  this  camp,  and  of  sundry  things  being  done,  the  real 
import  of  which  very  few,  if  any,  seemed  to  understand 
clearly.  As  the  men  were  wearied  standing  in  line,  the 
officers  seemed  to  be  engaged  looking  over  papers,  as  if  com- 
paring and  verifying  names,  dates,  etc.  A  curious  fact  about 
the  matter  has  been  that  in  no  diary,  letter  or  written  docu- 
ment of  any  kind  that  has  come  to  the  notice  of  the  writer  ha.s 
any  allusion  been  made  to  it  in  any  shape  or  form,  except  in 
the  records  of  the  adjutant-general's  office.  It  was  univer- 
sally understood  that,  when  we  were  examined  at  Camp 
Morton  and  had  the  oath  administered    to  us  by  the  United 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  43 

States  mustering  officer,  we  were  then  being  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service.  The  regimental  non-commissioned 
staff  were  also  appointed  and  mustered  at  this  time. 

The  orders  which  finally  carried  us  away  from  the  state 
were  received  September  14th.  That  same  evening  we 
marched  into  the  city  and  turned  in  the  guns,  cartridge  boxes 
and  belts,  which  we  had  received  a  few  days  before.  The 
guns  were  all  old  flint-locks,  rudely  changed  to  use  caps,  and 
it  was  questionable  which  was  their  most  dangerous  end. 
The  next  morning  we  struck  tents,  packed  up  our  mess-kettles, 
etc.,  and  they  were  carted  to  the  cars.  In  the  evening  of 
September  15,  18G1,  we  marched  to  the  Bellefontaine  rail- 
road, east  of  the  Union  depot,  and  embarked  upon  the  train. 
It  was  Sunday,  almost  the  time  for  the  ringing  of  the  evening 
church  bells.  The  weather  was  mild  and  clear.  A  delight- 
ful calm  prevailed  all  around,  if  not  within  us.  There  was 
no  delay  ;  as  soon  as  we  were  in  the  cars  the  whistle  sounded, 
the  bell  rang,  the  steam  hissed,  and — we  were  off'.  The 
people  who  had  gathered  about  cheered,  and  we  ourselves 
gave  a  long  series  of  wild  huzzas.  At  all  the  towns  passed 
before  dark  we  received  the  warmest  greetings.  Citizens 
flocked  to  the  railroad  in  crowds,  waved  handkerchiefs  and 
flags  and  cheered.  Among  ourselves  we  had  an  hilarious 
time  until  long  into  the  night,  singing,  laughing  and  making 
merry.  Still,  deep  down  in  our  hearts  was  a  strong  vein  of 
seriousness.  We  could  not  forget  that  we  were  starting  on  a 
long  journey,  with  the  prospect  of  a  long  absence,  and  that 
our  errand  was  war!  It  was  well  for  us  that  we  had  no  real 
foresight  as  to  the  very  large  number  among  us  who  would 
never  return. 

We  were  well  convinced  now  that  our  destination  was 
Washington  or  its  vicinity.  The  first  morning  found  us  at 
Crestline,  Ohio;  the  second,  at  Pittsburg,  Penn.  ;  the  third,  at 
Harrisburg  ;  the  fourth  at  Baltimore,  and  about  noon  of  that 
day  we  arrived  at  Washington.  At  all  the  intermediate  points 
mentioned  we  changed  cars,  and  at  most  of  them  experienced 
considerable  delay. 

The  second  day  the  regiment  was  divided  between  three 
trains,  all  run  at  a  high  rate  of  speed.  When  the  first  came 
within  two  miles  of  Alliance,  Ohio,  it  met  with  a  bad  wreck, 
which  might  have  been  a  hundred-fold  more  fatal  than  it 
proved.     As  it  was,  James  Allen,  of  Company  A,  lost  his  life 


44  HISTORY    OF    THE 

— the  first  death  in  the  regiment.  The  accident  was  caused 
by  a  two-year-old  calf  of  the  male  persuasion.  He  was  feed- 
ing along  the  road,  where  the  approach  of  the  train  was  con- 
cealed from  him  by  a  wood  pile.  Its  sudden  rush  and  roar 
seemed  to  confuse  him,  and,  making  a  wild  leap  toward  his 
companions  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  track,  he  landed  under 
the  wheels,  between  the  locomotive  and  tender.  He  was 
•dragged  some  distance  and  torn  into  shreds.  But  the  tender 
at  length  parted  from  the  locomotive  and  jumped  the  track, 
carrying  the  train  with  it.  Fortunately  a  number  of  freight 
cars  were  ahead,  loaded  with  the  regimental  baggage  and 
officers'  horses.  These  cars  were  crushed  and  piled  up  in  a 
shapeless  mass.  Comrade  Allen  had  been  riding  with  the 
baggage  along  with  others,  to  look  after  it,  but  was  the  only 
one  seriously  hurt.  The  horses  received  a  terrible  shaking  up, 
though  none  of  them  were  permanently  injured.  Two  coaches 
carrying  men  lacked  but  a  little  of  turning  over.  The  track 
was  soon  cleared  and  we  proceeded   on  our  journey. 

We  greatly  enjoyed  the  long  daylight  journey  over  the 
Alleghanies.  The  scenery  was  very  beautiful  and  entirely  new 
to  most  of  us.  At  the  Horse-shoe  curve  many  of  us  thought  for 
awhile  that  the  two  ends  of  our  long  tram  were  separate  trains, 
running  in  opposite  directions.  We  were  nervous  about  passing 
through  Baltimore  unarmed,  all  the  more  as  we  arrived  there 
in  the  night — some  supplied  themselves  with  rocks  before  en- 
tering— but  we  saw  no  sign  of  danger,  and  were  hospitably 
treated  by  those  we  met,  more  so  than  we  had  been  at  Harris- 
burg.  The  capitol  building  at  Washington,  with  its  huge 
outlines  of  white  marble,  and  the  unfinished  dome,  surrounded 
with  its  scaffolding,  was  the  first  object  in  that  city  we  rec- 
ognized. It  revived  our  enthusiasm  to  see  it,  and  from  that 
point  on  it  was  lively  among  us  again. 

But  all  in  all,  the  ride  from  Indianapolis  to  Washington 
was  about  as  trying  on  the  regiment,  as  the  writer  remembers 
it,  as  any  subsequent  march  or  campaign.  Of  course,  there 
were  exceptions,  but  so  there  were  at  other  times.  We  had 
our  way  about  it,  and  rode  the  whole  distance  in  passenger 
cars,  except  a  small  part  of  the  regiment  rode  from  Harris- 
burg  to  Baltimore,  and  still  more  of  us  from  Baltimore  to 
Washington,  in  freight  cars.  Soldiers  at  that  period  of  the 
war  foolishly  considered  it  a  slight  put  upon  them  to  be  loaded 
into   freight   cars.     They   were   all   called  "  cattle   cars,"  and 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  45 

soldiers  resented  being  treated  as  cattle.  It  was  only  by  ex- 
perience that  they  learned  that  freight  cars  were  decidedly  the 
most  comfortable  for  men  in  their  circumstances.  In  passen- 
ger cars,  we  rode  two  in  a  seat,  all  day,  and  once  or  twice 
nearly  all  night,  with  no  chance  to  lie  down  or  stretch  our 
limbs.  By  some  means,  our  rations  were  short.  We  had 
orders  to  take  four  days'  cooked  rations  with  us,  but  we  had 
no  haversacks  to  carry  rations  in,  and  the  probability  is  that  in 
our  verdancy  we  packed  them  in  our  mess  kettles,  where  we 
had  no  access  to  them.  At  Union  City,  Ind.,  we  received 
haversacks,  but  they  were  painfully  empty,  and  our  stomachs 
soon  became  likewise.  Part  of  the  regiment  was  generously 
fed  by  the  citizens  at  Pittsburg  and  other  points,  but  that  suf- 
ficed for  but  one  meal  only  ;  so  when  we  arrived  at  our  desti- 
nation we  were  about  "done  up."  At  the  Soldiers'  Rest,, 
near  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  depot  at  Washington,  however,  we 
found  exactly  what  we  needed.  There  were  a  number  of 
large  tanks  filled  with  clear  water,  in  which  we  took  a  royal 
bath,  and  afterward  were  given  an  abundance  of  cooked  food. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WASHINGTON. 

After  some  hours  spent  in  and  about  the  Soldiers'  Rest, 
the  Twenty-seventh  received  orders  to  go  into  camp  at  Kohl- 
erama  Heights,  a  series  of  commanding  hills  in  what  was 
then  the  northwestern  suburbs  of  the  city.  The  line  of  march 
was  out  New  Jersey  and  Massachusetts  avenues.  But  before 
starting  out  a  goodly  number  of  the  boys,  among  whom  was 
the  writer,  took  "French  leave"  and  went  over  to  inspect 
the  Capitol.  The  ground  was  then  open  between  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio  depot  and  the  capitol  grounds,  though  strewn 
thickly  with  blocks  and  chips  of  marble,  the  refuse  of  recent 
work  on  the  building. 

It  was  no  small  thing  for  young  men  away  from  home 
for  the  first  time  in  their  lives,  to  hnd  their  shoe  heels  cracking 
the  tasselated  floors  of  one  of  the  finest  buildings  in  the  world, 
within  a  month  after  starting  out.  The  immense  dimensions 
of  the  capitol,  its  long,  pilastered  corridors,  its  richly  furnished 
rooms  and  halls,  its  rare  and  costly  chandeliers,  statuary  and 
paintings,  and  the  magic  of  its  historical  associations,  were 
simply  enchanting  to  us  untraveled  Hoosiers.  A  kindly  gen- 
tleman, who  had  formerly  lived  in  Indiana,  cheerfully  volun- 
teered to  guide  us  through  the  great  pile,  calling  our  attention 
to  all  the  points  of  interest,  and  explaining  a  multitude  of 
things  which  we  could  not  have  understood  otherwise.  From 
the  dome,  the  gentleman  pointed  out  the  white  tents  of  the 
rebel  out-post  at  Munson's  Hill,  Virginia.  Lastly,  he  con- 
ducted us  to  the  galleries  of  the  House  and  Senate.  From 
the  gallery  of  the  latter  he  pointed  out  the  identical  seats 
then  recently  vacated  by  prominent  conspirators  in  the  South, 
among  others  that  of  the  arch-conspirator,  Jefferson  Davis, 
himself. 

Some  of  us  became  so  absorbed  in  these  wonders  that  we 
forgot  ourselves  and  overstayed  our  time.  When  we  returned, 
the  regiment  had  gone.  To  overtake  it  was  easy,  but  in  reach- 
ing our  places  we  had  to  pass  the  Lieutenant-colonel.  "Where 
have  you  been  ?"  he  sternly  demanded.     "  Looking  at  the  Capi- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA, 


47 


tol,"  we  innocently  replied.  "I'll  capitol  you,  when  we  get 
to  camp,"  he  said.  But  he  failed  to  take  our  names  and  if  any 
one  ever  reported  to  him  to  be  "  Capitoled,"  whatever  that 
was,  it  is  not  generally  known. 

Kohlerama  Heights  was,  in  some  respects,  a  grand  place 
for  a  camp.  The  view  was  glorious, — commanding  a  long 
stretch  of  the  Potomac  river,  with  its  multitude  of  white  sails, 
and  its  steam  transports  and  ferry  boats,  moving  hither  and 
thither  ;  also  the  long  bridge,  and  a  wide,  interesting  landscape, 
on  both  sides  of  the  stream.     Nearer  by,  wherever  one  might 


RuDOLH  Reisex,  Co.  K. 

RECENT    PICTURE. 


W.    A.    HOSTETER,    Co.    A, 
RECENT    PORTRAIT. 


look,  were  the  busy  camps  of  many  thousand  soldiers.  To  look 
at  these  camps  at  night  was  if  anything,  more  enspiritiiig  than 
to  see  them  in  daylight.  This  part  of  the  panorama  that  was 
on  exhibition  to  every  Twenty-seventh  soldier,  night  after 
night,  has  been  embalmed  in  Mrs,  Howe's  line. 

We  have  seen  him  in  the  watch-fires  of  a  thousand  circling  camp-;. 
Her  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic  was  written  at  this  precise 
period  and  after  viewing  these  identical  scenes.     The  writer 
never   hears   it  recited  or  sung  without  the  spell  of  those  days 
taking  possession  of  him. 


48  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Another  vivid  impression  that  the  writer  received  at. that 
time  and  lias  carried  witli  him  tlirough  all  the  years,  is  the 
peculiar,  magnetic  influence  that  the  country's  flag  exercises 
over  a  person,  who  looks  at  it  closely,  while  its  wihte  and  red 
stripes  and  starry  field  of  blue,  ripple  and  quiver  in  a  stiff 
breeze,  or  as  its  folds  rise  and  fall  in  a  more  gentle  one.  It 
is  surely  a  pleasant  sensation  to  a  patriot.  Every  hill  top 
and  plain  in  sight  at  this  time  had  its  flag.  Some  of  them 
were  very  large,  and  could  be  seen  for  many  miles. 

The  camp  nearest  our  own  was  that  of  the  First  Minne- 
sota. Its  commander.  Colonel  Gorman,  having  formerly  lived 
in  Indiana,  and  been  the  colonel  of  an  Indiana  regiment  in  the 
Mexican  war,  it  was  easy  for  the  two  regiments  to  get  ac- 
quainted. We  liked  them  from  the  start,  and  it  was  never 
hard  for  us  to  believe  that  the  First  Minnesota  had  immortal- 
ized itself  at  Gettysburg. 

The  weather  was  sublime  during  this  period — that  mild, 
smoky,  dreamy,  fall  weather,  known  as  Indian  summer.  The 
second  day  we  were  there  we  saw  the  balloon  go  up  from  head- 
quarters over  in  Virginia.  This  was  for  a  long  time  a  noted 
feature  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

But  the  wood  at  this  camp  was  scarce  and  poor  and  the 
water  was  abominable.  The  wood  was  mostly  green  cedar 
and  the  water  was  a  soft,  blueish  decoction  which  we  found 
oozing  out  of  the  hillside,  in  appearance  and  taste  strongly 
resembling  soap  suds.  It  was  hard  for  us  to  believe  sometimes 
that  it  was  not  soap  suds.  There  came  near  being  several  fist 
fights  in  the  regiment  over  some  comrades  accusing  others  of 
washing  in  the  spring.  A  drink  of  it  would  not  satisfy  the 
thirst  of  those  of  us  accustomed  to  using  clear,  hard  water, 
any  better  than  a  drink  of  brine. 

One  of  the  days  at  Kohlerama  was  Sunday.  After  inspec- 
tion the  companies  were  marched  to  a  pleasant  spot  and  the 
Chaplain  preached  from  the  text  "  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed 
in  whom  there  is  no  guile."  Jno.  1  :  47.  It  was  the  first  time, 
and  one  of  the  few  times,  we  ever  attended  divine  service 
Nolens   V^olcns. 

The  next  day  w^e  moved  about  two  miles  north  and  east, 
and  pitched  our  camp  in  an  abandoned  field  near  Tenally- 
town.  Why  we  moved  nobody  remembers.  If  it  was  to  get 
better  water,  it  was  wise.  We  called  that  place  Camp  Col- 
grove.     We  remained  there  six  days.     While  there  we   drew 


TWEXTY-SEVEXTH     INDIAN' A.  49 

about  everything  we  still  lacked,  among  them  two  very  prom- 
inent equipments  of  the  infantry  soldier,  guns  and  knapsacks. 
The  first  is  supposed  to  be  adapted  to  killing  an  enemy,  while 
the  latter  is  an  admirable  contrivance  for  killing  the  soldier 
himself.  In  the  ideal  time,  if  it  ever  comes,  when  war  and 
evervthing  else  is  carried  on  according  to  common  sense,  a 
sold  er  will  as  soon  be  expected  to  wear  a  camp  kettle  for  a 
held  covering  as  to  carry  a  knapsack.  But  in  the  Civil  war, 
particularly  in  the  Eastern  army,  a  man  with  a  sixteen-shooter, 
a  dead  shot  at  a  thousand  yards  and  always  on  hand  for  duty, 
would  have  been  decided  a  worthless  appendage  without  a 
knapsack.  So  we  got  them  and  a  careful  watch  was  maintaintd 
to  make  sure  that  we  kept  them  and  carried  them. 

The  guns,  instead  of  being  hauled  to  camp,  we  went 
after  ourselves — to  the  arsenal,  at  the  extreme  oppos'te  end  of 
the  city.  Not  getting  them  the  first  time,  we  went  again. 
Each  trip  required  about  a  day.  It  was  not  the  only  time 
in  the  war  that  mule  muscle  was  spared  at  the  expense  of 
human  muscle,  but  it  enabled  us  to  see  quite  a  good  deal  of 
the  city  and  was  a  means  of  recreation,  if  not  of  enjoyment. 
We  went  each  time  in  full  force,  with  flying  colors,  squeaking 
fifes  and  beating  drums.  \Ve  passed  along  the  principal 
streets,  directly  in  front  of  the  Capitol  and  near  the  White 
House,  marching  proudly  to  "  Bung-de-addle-de  "  and  "The 
Girl  I  Left  Behind  Me." 

We  called  the  guns  we  drew  here  "  Belgium  rifles."  They 
were  evidently  of  some  foreign  manufacture.  They  were 
really  young  cannon,  ^veighing  fourteen  pounds  each,  and  six 
of  their  cartridges  weighed  one  pound.  They  had  spikes  at 
the  breech  projecting  upward  on  the  inside.  These,  fitting 
into  the  hollow  end  of  the  ball,  wedged  it  into  the  rifles. 
This  improved  their  shooting  qualities,  but  made  them  un- 
handy to  keep  clean,  as  the  ball  could  not  be  drawn.  They 
were  all  deadly  at  the  muzzle  end,  and  some  of  them  were 
next  to  deadly  at  both  ends.  Their  kick  was  like  the  recoil 
of  a  cannon. 

Another  thing  we  drew  at  this  camp  was  horses  and 
wagons.  There  were  probably  no  more  of  them  than  other 
regiments  received  at  that  time,  but  the  number  would  have 
been  considered  a  joke,  if  not  a  stigma,  a  little  later.  Each 
company  had  two  teams  —  one  exclusively  for  the  three  com- 
missioned oflicers.      How  many  more  the  regiment   had,  "  de- 


50  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ponent  aiT^wereth  not."  Among  the  rest,  the  Colonel  had 
one  four-horse  team,  all  for  his  sole  use  and  benefit.  Two 
years  later,  in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  we  were  allowed  just 
one  wagon  for  the  entire  regiment.  We  remember  the  horses 
we  drew  here  as  being  famous  for  legs.  None  of  them  could 
have  been  less  than  sixteen  to  seventeen  hands  high.  Rather 
thin,  loose-jointed  and  slab-sided,  they  did  not  last  long. 
They  were  soon  exchanged  for  mules,  some  of  which  we  kept 
until  we  h  ft  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  While  we  were  in 
the  vicinity  of  Washington  we  were  supplied  with  bread 
baked  at  an  extemporized  bakery  in  the  basement  of  the 
Capitol,  which  had  a  capacity  of  seventy-five  thousand  loaves 
daily. 

Washington  was  not  the  city  then  that  it  is  now,  by  any 
means.  After  leaving  there  we  met  Indiana  troops  who  had 
not  seen  the  citv.  One  of  them  asked  an  acquaintance  in  our 
regiment  how  Washington  looked.  He  replied,  'Tt  looks  for 
all  the  world  like  old  Leavenworth."  This  latter  was  an  Indi- 
ana town  with  which  both  were  acquainted.  Originally  it 
was  scattered  on  long,  muiidy  streets,  with  few  tasteful,  sub- 
stantial improvements.  But  the  streams  of  cotnmerce  had 
long  since  1  een  diverted  from  it,  and  everything  about  it  had 
fallen  in'o  hideous  dilapidation.  It  was  nut  a  had  comparison 
to  say  Washington  was  like  it. 

On  Sunday,  September  29,  orders  were  received  to  start 
at  y  A.  M.  Monday  and  join  General  Banks'  division  near 
Darnestown,  Maryland,  twenty-five  miles  up  the  Potomac. 
But  the  Colonel  probably  remembered  the  usual  fondness  of 
young  men  for  a  Sunday  evening  walk,  so  we  started  at  once. 
We  marched  four  or  five  miles  and  went  into  camp.  That  is, 
the  Colonel,  mounted  officers  and  a  few  others  of  the  more 
hardy  or  more  ambitious  ones,  did.  The  greater  part  were 
scattered  along  the  road  f-ide.  like  a  peddler's  effects  after  a 
runaway.  It  was  the  knapsacks.  If  the  Colonel  had  waited 
until  next  morning  and  made  a  full  day's  march  before  camp- 
ing he  would  probably  have  lost  many  of  his  men  for  good; 
as  it  was,  they  all  worried  along  and  managed  to  reach  camp 
sometime  before  morning.  Very  few  in  the  regiment  had 
been  used  to  much  walking  and  to  start  out  with  a  pack  mule's 
burden,  carried  at  about  the  worst  possible  disadvantage,  was 
too  much. 

The  next  day  some  knapsacks  were  hauled  in  the  wagons, 


TWENTV-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


51 


others  were  relieved  largely  of  their  contents,  and  we  got 
along  better.  We  marched  about  fifteen  miles,  passing 
through  the  town  of  Rockville,  and  rather  a  pretty,  though 
to  us,  odd  looking  country.  It  hardly  seemed  that  we  could 
be  in  the  United  vStates.  The  prevalent  styles  of  architecture, 
the  mode  of  farming,  the  common  implements  of  husbandry, 
the  dress,  speech  and  customs  of  the  people  were  all  widely 
diflPerent  from  what  we  had  been  accustomed  to.  Money 
values  were  all  designated  by  the  old  denominations  as  "  shil- 
ling," "bit,"  "sixpence,"  etc.  When  our  boys  offered  a 
"  quarter"  or  a  "  dime  "  for  this  or  that,  they  were  asked  to 
explain  what  they  meant.  A  two-horse  team,  hitched  to  a 
four-wheeled  wagon  was  a  sight  not  vouchsafed  to  our  hungry 


First  Notions  of  Army  Life. 

eyes.  There  was  an  abundance  of  two-wheeled  carts  with 
one  horse  or  two  oxen  attached  and  all  four-wheeled  vehicles 
had  from  three  to  five  animals  drawing  them.  The  beds  of 
these,  moreover,  were  a  sight  to  behold,  resembling  somewhat 
the  "  prairie  schooners  "  known  to  our  far  western  frontier 
life. 

We  found  those  giant  public  pumps,  so  common  through 
Maryland,  a   great  convenience.     There   was  one  on  almost 


52  HISTORY    OF    THE 

every  corner  in  towns  and  villages  and  they  are  of  ten  provided 
at  convenient  points  along  public  roads.  The  pump  itself 
usually  stands  about  ten  feet  above  ground,  is  often  made  of 
the  body  of  a  large-sized  white  oak,  with  the  bark  on,  and 
they  have  long  iron  handles,  curving  up  at  the  loNver  end  and 
terminating  with  an  iron  ball.  Attached  to  the  pump  by  a 
chain  was  an  iron  dipper,  beat  out  by  a  blacksmith.  In  the 
heat  and  dust  of  marching,  it  is  a  great  luxury  to  have  plenty 
of  cool,  fresh  water. 

The  third  day,  we  had  but  a  few  miles  to  go.  As  we 
neared  Darnestown  we  met  the  troops  of  General  Banks' com- 
mand going  out  on  review.  Among  them  were  the  Twelfth 
and  Sixteenth  Indiana  regiments,  one-year  men.  In  them 
were  a  number  of  the  friends  of  members  of  our  regiment  and 
for  a  time  we  were  considerably  mixed  up  in  the  road, 
exchanging  greetings.  The  conduct  of  neither  of  the  regi- 
ments concerned  was  exactly  in  the  best  military  form  but 
was  perhaps  excusable  under  the  circumstances.  The  Twenty- 
seventh  soon  became  disengaged  from  the  others  and  moving 
on  through  the  hamlet,  went  into  camp, where  it  was  to  experi- 
ence another  stage  of  army  life. 


CHAPTER  V. 


CAMP  HAMILTON  AND  COON  ROD'S  FERRY. 

At  Darnestown,  the  Twenty-seventh  was  assigned  to  the 
Second  Brigade  of  Banks'  division,  Gen.  Charles  S.  Hamil- 
ton, commanding.  The  camp  was  named  Camp  Hamilton. 
The  other  regiments  in  the  brigade  were  the  Third  Wisconsin, 
Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  and  Ninth  New  York  Militia. 
The  two  latter,  being  composed  of  city-bred  men,  were  in 
striking  contrast  with  the  Twenty-seventh,  but  that  did  not 
seem  to  make  the  least  difference.  They  were  courteous,  gen- 
tlemanly men,  and  fraternized  with  us  without  friction  from 
the  start,  and  when  they  were  transferred  to  other  relations 
later  on,  we  parted  company  with  deep,  mutual  regrets.  We 
did  not  come  into  close  touch  with  the  Third  Wisconsin  for 
some  time,  their  location  not  being  near  ours.  When  the  two 
regiments  were  thrown  together,  it  seemed  as  natural  for 
them  to  affiliate  as  if  they  had  been  from  the  same  state. 
They  remained  in  the  same  relation  until  the  Twenty- 
seventh  ceased  to  be.  The  histories  of  the  two,  from 
this  time  until  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  are  practically  identical. 
No  one  who  has  not  had  a  similar  experience  can  compre- 
hend the  strength  of  the  attachment  which,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, one  regiment  comes  to  have  for  the  brave,  faith- 
ful and  companionable  men  of  another — like  the  Third  Wis- 
consin. 

Camp  Hamilton  had  some  hard  things  in  store  for  us. 
We  were  only  there  two  weeks,  but  if  the  calendar  was  not 
against  us  it  would  be  impossible  to  convince  any  of  us 
that  we  were  not  there  two  months,  at  least.  Most  new  regi- 
ments strike  some  camp  where  duty  seems  tremendously  rig- 
orous, comforts  of  all  kinds  unknown,  necessary  supplies  scant 
and  poor,  and  where,  on  these  accounts  and  others,  sickness 
of  various  kinds,  despondency  and  insubordination  run  riot. 
This  was  such  a  camp  for  the  Twenty-seventh.  We  spent 
six  hours  each  day  in  drill.  And  it  was  drill!  No  foolish- 
ness, now.  Two  hours,  in  the  hottest  part  of  the  day,  was 
battalion   drill,  in    full    uniform,   with    full    knapsacks.     The 


54  HISTORY    OF    THE 

knapsacks  were  inspected,  to  make  sure  that  nothing  was  left 
out  of  them.  The  drill  ground  was  rough  and  covered  with 
coarse  weeds  and  briars,  an  unclouded  sun  poured  down  his 
glistening,  sickening  rays,  and  there  was  no  intermission  for 
rest  or  water.  We  got  very  tired,  our  shoulders  ached  dread- 
fully, the  sweat  gathered  on  our  faces  and  ran  down  into  our 
eyes,  w^hile  thoughts  came  into  our  minds,  and  even  words  to 
our  lips,  which  would  not  look  at  all  well  in  print.  Besides 
the  drills,  we  had  guard  duty,  police  duty  and  roll  calls  ad 
i?ip)iiiii/n,  ad  nauseam.  If  every  man  among  us  had  been  a 
convicted  felon,  the  cordon  of  guards  around  the  camp,  both 
day  and  night,  could  not  have  been  more  strenuously  main- 
tained. In  addition  to  that,  there  were  guards  stationed  at 
almost  all  imaginable  points,  from  the  commissary  stores  to 
the  spring,  and  from  the  colonel's  tent  to  the  regimental  sink. 
In  short,  from  the  highest  to  the  low^est,  we  found  ourselves 
in  the  iron  grasp  of  stern,  unrelenting  military  rules,  and  an 
abundance  of  them  —  it  seemed  to  us  a  superabundance  of 
them. 

But  if  there  was  an  excess  of  some  things  there  was  a 
shortage  of  others.  The  rations  issued  made  no  pretense  of 
being  more  than  the  commonest  of  army  fare.  There  were 
no  fruits,  vegetables,  or  extras  of  any  kind.  Very  little  that 
we  did  get  was  good  of  its  kind,  or  in  proper  quantity. 

It  must  be  that  a  rascally  commissary  department  takes 
occasion,  on  the  advent  of  each  new  regiment,  to  square  up  its 
shortages  and  get  rid  of  its  accumulation  of  nastiness.  It  is 
so  easy  to  scout  at  new  men  and  ridicule  them  for  their  daint- 
iness, if  they  complain.  Unquestionably  the  Twenty-seventh 
drew  fatter,  worse  tainted  "  sow  belly;"  rustier,  more  unpal- 
atable bacon;  older,  wormier  hardtack;  coffee  with  a  larger 
proportion  of  beans  in  it,  and  blacker,  sandier  sugar  dur- 
ing our  two  weeks  at  Camp  Hamilton,  than  during  all  the 
balance  of  our  service.  In  fact,  we  never  knew  of  any  such 
supplies  being  issued  to  anybody  anywhere  after  that.  Most 
of  the  pork,  whether  pickled  or  smoked,  was  from  hogs  of 
enormous  size,  plenty  of  the  side  meat  being  fully  six  inches 
thick — coarse,  oily  and  repulsive,  if  in  good  condition,  which 
it  was  not.  Nearly  every  bit  of  it  was  more  or  less  soured.  The 
hardtack  was  as  large  as  a  breakfast  plate,  and  the  boys  stoutly 
affirmed  that  it  had  been  kept  over  from  the  Mexican  war. 
It  was  stale  and  musty,  and  some  of  it  was  alive  with  vermin. 


TW'EXTY-SEVEXTH    INDIAXA.  55 

But  a  good  deal  of  the  time  we  drew  fliur,  in  place  of 
hardtack.  All  that  we  could  do  with  that,  most  of  the  time, 
was  to  make  a  batter  of  it  with  water  and  fry  this  in  the 
grease  obtained  from  the  ill-smelling  pork.  These  we  called 
"  flap  jacks."  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  other  civi'ized  man 
ever  really  prepared  food  for  himself  as  monstrously  unpalatable 
and  unwholesome  as  these  were.  They  differed  from  the  cel- 
ebrated Dr.  Mussy's  fried  cakes,  however.  He  was  once  lect- 
uring to  a  class  of  students,  in  Cincinnati,  on  diet.  One  of 
them  interrupted  him  to  inquire  about  fried  cakes,  a  popular 
article  of  food  at  the  boarding  house  just  then.  The  doctor 
had  a  slight  impediment  of  speech,  but,  after  some  eflFort,  he 
said,  with  more  force  than  elegance,  ''  F — f — ried  cakes  are 
sometimes  mercifully  allowed  to  go  through  a  man."  Our 
"  flap  jacks"  went  through  in  a  hurry.  At  no  other  time  was 
the  Twenty-seventh  much  troubled  with  camp  diirrhcpa,  one 
of  the  worst  scourges  of  armies.  At  Camp  Hamilton  we  soon 
had  a  mammoth,  double-pavilion,  consolidattd  circus  of  it. 
The  busy,  thronging  scenes  around  the  regimental  sink,  as  we 
all  recall  them,  would  be  very  amusing  if  thev  had  not  really 
been  so  serious. 

We  drew  some  fresh  beef  here,  which  was  always  good, 
because  it  came  to  the  regiment  on  the  hoof  and  was  killed 
and  dressed  by  our  own  experienced  butchers,  of  whom  we 
had  a  number.  The  only  trouble  with  it  was,  it  would  not 
seem  to  go  far  enough.  T'he  best  we  could  do  a  da\'s  rations 
would  only  suffice  for  one  square  meal.  However,  we  stewed 
rice  with  the  beef,  and  between  the  broth,  rice  and  beef  the 
days  we  had  that  ration  were  the  only  ones  in  th  it  camp  that 
we  do  not  recall  with  a  shudder,  when  thinking  of  what  we 
had  to  eat.  Two  articles  that  were  issued  here  and  at  once 
thrown  away  as  worthless,  we  came  to  think  more  of  when  we 
learned  how  to  cook  them.  One  was  salt  or  '"corned" 
beef,  and  the  other  was  "  desicated  vegetables.''  The  beef 
was  evitlently  not  the  best  of  its  kind.  We  called  it  "salt 
horse."  In  its  texture  it  looked  more  as  if  cut  from  a  horse  tlian 
an  ox;  still,  when  we  learned  how  long  to  boil  it  we  found  it 
could  be  eaten  and  would  sustain  life.  The  ariicle  known  as 
"  desicated  vegetables  "  was  a  compound  of  almost  all  varieties 
of  vegetables:  potatoes,  cabbage,  turnips,  parsnips,  carrots, 
etc.,  dried  and  pressed  into  cakes.  The  swelling  p;opensities 
of  a  piece  of  this  conglomeration  has  been  a  mailer  of  amaze- 


56 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ment  as  well  as  amusement,  from  the  time  of  the  war  until 
now.  When  used  as  a  seasoning  or  to  thicken  a  soup  moder- 
ately, most  of  us  learned  to  like  it  and  rather  prized  it  later  on. 
At  Camp  Hamilton  we  cast  it  out  as  worthless.  The  boys 
called  it  "  consecrated  vegetables."' 

In  an  effort  to  get  away  trom  "  flap-jacks  "  and  hardtack, 
kept  over  from  the  Mexican  war,  the  bricklayers  of  the  regi- 
ment, under  the  directions  of  the  bakers,  built  ovens  for  baking 
bread.  The  results  were  not  the  most  satisfactory,  but  the 
bread  baked  was  better  than  either  of  the  other  articles. 


Maj.  J.   J.   Johnson, 

FIRST    SURGEON    TWENTY- 
SEVENTH    IND.    VOI.S. 


Capt.  Wm.  E.  Davis,  Co.    B. 
taken  soon  after  war. 


No  experienced  soldier  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  we 
had  a  violent  and  sweeping  epidemic  of  homesickness  at  Camp 
Hamilton.  Besides  the  conditions  above  mentioned,  we  had 
been  away  from  home  about  the  right  time  lor  this  to  super- 
vene. There  was  more  of  it  here  and  it  was  much  more  ac- 
cute  in  form  than  at  any  other  time.  There  were  cases  that 
eventually  resulted  in  death.  Many  others  were  so  homesick 
as  to  lose  temporarily,  not  only  all  hope,  but  all  pride  and 
ambition.  Some  had  to  be  forced  to  wash  their  clothing  and 
persons.     A  few,  who  before  had   been   rather   high   spirited, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  57 

mettlesome  young  men,  had  to  be  taken  to  the  brook  by  a 
detail  and  scrubbed  like  sheep  at  shearing  time.  It  is  to  be 
doubted  whether  any  one  of  us  would  like  to  confess  fully 
just  what  his  state  of  mind  was  and  what  he  thought  of  vari- 
ous matters,  much  less  all  that  he  said,  at  that  time. 

Our  officers,  with  a  few  notable  exceptions,  acted  a 
manly,  judicious  part  at  this  trying  period.  As  a  rule  they 
were  older  than  the  men,  and  of  course  more  experienced. 
Their  food  being  more  plentiful  and  wholesome,  and  their 
quarters  more  cheerful,  they  were  in  a  position  to  buoy  up 
and  bear  with  those  under  them.  Those  who  were  then  kind 
and  somewhat  indulgent  will  never  be  forgotten  for  it  — 
neither  will  the  others,  for  that  matter. 

At  least  a  few  survivors  will  recall  the  incident  that 
transpired  here,  of  the  guard  at  the  commissary  being  for- 
gotten and  left  to  stand  all  night,  without  being  relieved. 
He  made  no  out-cry,  and  only  remarked,  when  found  next 
morning,  that  "  the  relief  seemed  a  little  slow  a-comin'."  It 
would  probably  not  be  proper  to  say  that  this  was  a  fair 
sample  of  the  quiet,  uncomplaining  devotion  to  duty  of  the 
men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  at  this  time. 

The  manner  of  our  getting  out  of  Camp  Hamilton,  as 
well  as  the  fact  that  we  got  out  as  soon  as  we  did,  was  for- 
tunate for  us,  though  involving  dire  misfortune  to  others. 
We  were  called  out  suddenly,  under  very  exciting  circum- 
stances. An  order  was  read  at  dress  parade  one  evening, 
directing  that  we  be  prepared  to  move  the  following  morning. 
Rumors  of  aggressive  warfare  and  even  of  bloodshed,  were 
rife.  Some  neighboring  regiments  had  broken  camp  within 
a  day  or  two  and  gone  away  somewhere.  An  unusual 
amount  of  travel  seemed  to  have  started  up  on  the  road  pass- 
ing in  sight  of  our  camp.  There  were,  especially,  an  unusual 
number  of  orderlies  and  other  mounted  men,  galloping  one 
way  or  another.  Just  before  dark,  when  rumors  were  becom- 
ing thicker  and  more  definite,  an  order  came  for  us  to  start 
forthwith  and  make  a  forced  march  that  night.  The  long- 
roll  was  beaten,  and  the  regimental  and  company  officers 
shouted,  in  tones  heavily  charged  with  feeling,  to  strike 
tents,  get  ready  to  go,  and  be  quick  about  it! 

The  effect  was  electrical.  It  sent  the  blood  with  a  whirl 
to  our  very  finger  tips.  Men  went  wild.  They  cheered, 
screamed,  shook  hands  and  hugged  each  other,  as  if  they  had 


58  HISTOIIV    OF    THE 

suddenly  lost  their  mentol  balance.  An  officer  remarked  upon 
the  great  change  that  was  observeable  in  the  regiment. 
"  Why,"  said  Captain  Wellman,  "  it  is  no  wonder!  these  men 
have  come  a  thousand  miles  to  fight  the  rebels,  and  now  they 
have  a  prospect  o'^'  doing  it."  Consequently,  scores  of  men 
were  not  only  willing  but  really  able  to  go,  who,  an  hour 
before,  could   not   have  marched  a  mile. 

It  is  surprising  how  cjuickly  a  regiment  can  pack  up  its 
eflfects,  take  down  its  tents,  arrange  things  for  loading,  store 
them  in  the  wagons  and  be  ready  to  start.  We  were  only 
novices  in  the  work  at  this  time,  but  as  this  was  was  our  first 
experience  of  starting  on  short  n  tice,  the  matter  may  as  well 
be  mentioned  here.  Old  soldiers  come  to  be  not  only  expert 
about  such  things,  but  very  much  so  in  detecting  and  inter- 
preting the  signs  which  precede  them.  Some  peculiarity 
about  a  courier  riding  into  camp,  the  manner  in  which  the 
colonel  calls  the  adjutant  after  receiving  a  dispatch,  the 
movement  of  the  adjutant  or  the  colonel's  orderly,  as  he  goes 
to  the  quarters  of  the  man  who  beats  the  calls,  any  one  of  a 
dozen  things,  will  often  forewarn  one  who  has  often  been 
over  the  ground,  of  what  is  coming. 

In  the  Twenty-seventh  it  was  common  to  beat  the  long 
roll  when  the  regiment  was  required  to  move  quickly.  Some- 
times the  adjutant  simply  stood  in  front  of  his  tent  and  gave 
verbal  orders  to  strike  tents  and  prepare  to  fall  in.  At  other 
times,  he  passed  swiftly  from  the  tent  of  one  company  com- 
mander to  another  and  communicated  the  orders  to  them. 
Whether  one  of  these  methods  was  pursued  or  another,  the 
effect  was  the  same.  Every  man  not  on  duty  at  once  sprang 
to  the  work  of  shaking  out  his  blankets,  gathering  his  effects 
and  packing  his  knapsack.  Of  course,  such  an  order  catches 
many  away  from  their  own  tents,  in  some  other  part  of  the  camp,, 
or  at  some  distance  outside  of  it.  These  men  can  be  seen  run- 
ning swiftly  to  their  own  quarters,  like  people  in  a  small 
town  or  village  respond  to  the  call  of  "  Fire." 

The  first  member  of  a  mess  to  get  his  individual 
traps  packed  seizes  an  ax  and  starts  around  the  tent^ 
giving  each  stake  a  few  licks  side-wise,  to  loosen  it. 
Others  follow  him,  pull  up  the  stakes  and  toss  them 
to  some  convenient  point.  As  the  last  stakes  come 
up,  the  tent  is  laid  upon  the  ground,  neatly  folded  in  layers^ 
and  rolled  in  a  compact  bundle.     The  stakes,  and   sometimes 


TWENTY- SEN'EN'TH    INDIANA.  59 

the  poles,  are  rolled  inside  und  the  guy  ropes  serve  to  tie  the 
bundle  fast.  Meanwhile,  the  company  teamster  has  hooked 
up  and  driven  to  some  accessible  point,  usually  one  end  or  the 
other  of  the  company  street.  There  each  mess  carries  its  tent, 
cooking  utensils,  axes,  shovels,  picks,  or  whatever  company 
property  it  may  have  in  charge.  If  there  is  time,  most  of  the 
company  assist  in  the  loading,  under  the  directions  of  the  com- 
missary sergeant,  and  "  many  hands  make  light  work."'  If 
orders  to  start  are  very  urgent,  a  small  detail  is  sometimes 
made  to  load  the  wagon  and  then  follow  on  after  the  column. 
Sometimes  the  work  is  left  v^  holly  for  the  sergeant  and 
teamster. 

A  camp  of  many  conveniences  was  thus  dismantled 
and  abandoned  in  a  very  few  minutes. 

As  might  be  imagined,  many  articles  of  some  value 
were  voluntarily  left  behind.  For  this  reason  a  swarm 
of  citizens,  a  mixed  multitude  of  men,  women  and  children, 
white  and  colored,  usually  appeared  when  a  camp  was  being 
abandoned,  to  pick  up  whatever  they  could  see.  The 
whites,  living  near,  were  not  commonly  in  favor  with 
Union  soldiers.  vSo  many  of  them  were  in  sympathy 
with  the  rebellion,  that  all  of  them  were  suspected 
of  it.  When  a  white  person  or  family  was  knowui  to 
be  really  on  our  side,  soldiers  were  often  lavish  in  the  bestow- 
ment  of  articles  that  could  not  be  taken  along.  Rather  than 
let  anything  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  known  rebel  sympathizer, 
it  was  usually  mutilated  or  destroyed.  Overcoats  or  other 
clothing,  or  blankets,  were  cut  or  torn,  and  provisions  were 
in  some  way  rendered  unfit  for  use.  After  the  regiment  was 
ready  to  start,  and  was  awaiting  orders  to  fall  in,  it  frequently 
happened  that  some  one  set  fire  to  the  straw  or  leaves  which 
had  been  used  for  bedding,  and  in  the  blaze  thus  started,  these 
cast  off  articles  were  thrown,  to  be  entirely  consumed. 

At  the  time  now  under  consideration,  there  was  no  delay 
in  starting.  Our  destination  was  Coonrods  Ferry,  the  move 
being  in  connection  with  the  disaster  at  Balls  Bluff.  It  was 
just  dark  when  we  fell  in,  and  moved  briskly  away  from  the 
spot  for  which  we  have  no  very  kindly  recollections.  The 
wagons,  and  the  men  not  well  enough  to  march,  were  left  be- 
hind, to  come  on  by  daylight. 

This  much  only  was  known  :  there  had  been  fighting  and 
we  were  needed.    \V^ith  some  delays,  the  longest  being  at  Pools- 


60  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ville,  we  reached  Coonrads  Ferry  slightly  before  daylight,  six- 
teen or  seventeen  miles.  There  was  no  straggling  and  little 
sign  of  weariness. 

At  Poolsville  we  met  men  who  had  been  in  the  battle  and 
heard  many  of  the  ghastly  particulars.  Doubtless  some  of  our 
informants  were  stragglers  and  shirks,  and  the  stories  they 
told  were  greatly  exaggerated  ;  but,  in  the  main,  the  facts  we 
gathered  were  the  same  as  history  still  relates  in  connection 
with  that  ill  timed  battle.  A  few  of  the  dead  and  wounded 
had  been  brought  to  Poolsville.  Among  the  former  was  the 
body  of  Colonel  Baker.  It  brought  the  shocking  realities  of 
war  home  to  us  in  a  way  that  had  not  been  done  before,  but 
the  effect  seemed  to  be  of  the  nature  of  an  additional  stimulant, 
making  the  men  moie  eager  than  ever  to  go  forward. 

Just  before  we  arrived  at  the  river,  a  drizzling  rain  set  in. 
All  day  there  was  a  leaky  sky.  The  battle  was  hopelessly 
over.  All  our  men  had  been  killed,  captured  or  driven 
into  the  river,  before  we  had  started  from  camp.  All  the 
boats  capable  of  carrying  more  than  three  or  four  men  each 
had  been  sunk.  So  there  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  wait 
on  the  river  bank, in  the  rain.  The  troops  there  before  us  were 
engaged  in  ferrying  across,  in  small  boats,  the  remnant 
of  Colonel  Baker's  command  which  had  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  island  in  the  river.  A  few  dead  and  quite 
a  number  of  wounded,  were  thus  brought  over.  No  signs 
of  an  enemy  were  visible  to  us,  though  we  must  have 
been  in  plain  view  to  some  of  them,  and  in  long  rifle  range. 
Later  in  the  war,  they  would  doubtless  have  given  us 
something  more  to  think  about.  It  seems  incredible,  but, 
under  orders  from  those  in  command,  we  actually  tried  to 
drag  an  unwieldy  scow  from  the  canal  into  the  river,  with  a 
view  of  crossing  over.  There  was  not  a  point  along  the  whole 
line  of  the  insurgent  states,  from  Virginia  to  Texas,  where  an 
attack  by  the  Union  Army  would  have  been  more  insane.  To 
cross  any  considerable  number  of  men  over  those  raging  waters, 
with  the  means  at  hand,  and  provision  them  after  they  were 
over,  would  have  been  a  sheer  impossibility,  without  an  enemy 
in  the  case. 

That  night,  the  Twenty-seventh  was  deploved  in  squads 
along  the  river.  Some  stood  picket  and  the  balance  slept 
what  they  could,  with  only  extemporized  shelter.  The  next 
day  we  moved   farther  away  from   the   river,  back  upon   the 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  61 

bluffs,  and  spent  another  night  without  tents.  It  had  quit 
raining,  but  turned  colder.  We  helped  ourselves  liberally  to 
straw,  found  in  the  vicinity.  Most  of  the  men  made  them- 
selves shelter  by  leaning  rails  up  against  something  and  cover- 
ing them  with  straw.  In  the  morning  (the  third  since  our 
arrival  at  the  river)  our  wagons  came  up  and  we  pitched 
tents  in  an  open  tield  on  elevated  ground.  There  was  a  high, 
cold  wind  blowing  which,  in  our  exposed  position,  had  a  fair 
chance  at  us.  From  camp  we  could  see  Leesburg  with 
the  naked  eye.  With  tield  glasses  we  could  see  the  rebel 
soldiers  in  its  streets.  Notwithstanding  that  it  was  the  28d 
of  October,  and  so  cold,  a  corn  iield  adjoining  camp  afibrded 
an  abundance  of  excellent  roasting  ears. 

In  the  morning  of  this  day  Henry  McCaslin,  of  Com- 
pany H,  lost  his  life,  at  the  hands  of  one  of  his  own 
company.  I'he  responsibility  for  the  distressing  mishap 
rested  between  the  officers  in  charge  and  McCaslin  him- 
self. The  one  who  did  the  shooting  could  not  be  blamed. 
The  company  was  on  picket  along  the  river.  Opposite 
where  it  wais  stationed,  there  was  a  long  island.  The 
pickets  were  definitely  instructed  that  we  had  no  soldiers  on 
the  island;  that  if  any  were  there  they  were  rebels.  But  in 
the  morning  it  was  reported  to  the  authorities  that  men  had 
been  seen  over  there,  and  it  was  decided  to  send  some  of  our 
men  over,  to  reconnoiter.  These  men  crossed  over  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  island,  and  the  pickets  opposite  the  lower 
end,  where  the  fatal  shooting  occurred,  were  not  notified  of 
it.  Comrade  McCaslin  was  of  the  party  crossing  over.  In 
scouting  around,  he  finally  reached  the  lower  end  of  the 
island,  where  he  came  out  so  this  picket  could  see  him,  but 
not  plain  enough  to  recognize  him  personally,  or  distinguish 
his  uniform.  He  was  also  so  unfortunate  as  to  make  some 
motions  which  the  picket  interpreted  as  making  ready  to 
shoot.  The  picket  therefore  quickly  dropped  down  upon  one 
knee  and,  resting  the  elbow  of  the  arm  which  held  the  gun 
upon  the  other  knee,  sent  a  ball  squarely  through  McCas- 
lin's  body.  Death  was  instantaneous.  When  the  picket  was 
advised  of  what  he  had  done  it  almost  dethroned  his  reason. 
But  the  incident  only  showed  that  he  had  some  of  the  elements 
of  a  first-class  soldier.  He  could  remember  his  orders  and  he 
was  a  crack  shot.  The  distance  was  not  less  than  four  hun- 
dred yards. 


62 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


The  evening  of  the  24th,  after  spending  one  night  in  our 
tents,  we  broke  camp  hastily,  under  urgent  orders,and  marched 
away,  after  burning  our  straw  and  destroying  other  conven- 
iences. We  went  about  a  mile  at  a  brisk  rate,  then  halted 
in  the  road  for  a  few  minutes  ;  then  about-faced  and  marched 
leisurely  back  to  the  spot  from  which  we  had  set  out.  There 
we  had  orders  to  pitch  tents  again.  There  had  been  an  alarm 
at  another  ferry,  four  miles  below,  but  the  order  for  us  to  go 
there  had  been  countermanded. 


An  Army   Wagon   Train. 

On  the  26th,  Banks'  division  returned  to  Darnestown. 
The  return  march  was  leisurely  and  uneventful,  only 
we  had  our  first  sight  of  a  long  army  supply  train.  The 
country  was  rather  level  and.  open,  and  an  immense  number 
of  army  wagons,  with  their  white  covers,  could  be  seen 
stretching  for  many  miles,  one  following  close  upon  another, 
in  all  the  turns  and  windings  of  a  somewhat  crooked  road. 
There  must  have  been  more  than  a  hundred  of  them,  marked 
"General   Banks'  Headquarters."     There  was  some  specula- 


TWENTY   SEVENTH     INDIANA.  63 

tion  amonw  us  at  the  time  as  to  whether  it  required  them  all 
to  transport  the  General's  personal  effects  and  those  of  his 
military  family.  If  it  did,  the  monstrous  nonsense  of  it  was 
not  greater  than  much  else  that  prevailed  in  those  first  months 
of  the  war. 

We  were  pleased  when  we  found  that  we  were  not  going 
in  to  our  old  camp  again,  and  were  not  going  to  be  very  near 
it.  Though  the  weather  was  cooler  now,  and  other  things 
were  to  be  more  satisfactory,  the  associations  of  the  place 
were  bad.      We  turned  off  towards  the  Potomac  river  instead. 

"The  g-enerals  commanded  and  armies  obeyed, 
No  battles  were  won  till  he  came  to  their  aid; 
For  he  drew  not  his  own,  but  Grand  Army  rations, 
And  his  traces  were  hooked  to  th'  fate  of  the  nations." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CAMP  JOE  HOLT  OR  MUDDY  BRANCH. 

Our  first  stop  was  in  a  grassy,  abandoned  field,  bordering 
a  small  stream,  flowing  musically  over  a  stony  bottom,  appro- 
priately called  Clear  creek.  Jts  steep  high  banks  were  a 
tangled  mass  of  the  evergreen  laurel.  This  seemed  an  ideal 
site  for  a  camp,  but  we  remained  there  only  one  night. 
In  the  afternoon  we  had  orders  to  move  still  farther  towards 
the  Potomac.  At  this  latter  place,  our  first  location  was  in  an 
oak  woods.  While  we  were  establishing  our  camp,  arranging 
for  proper  company  distances  and  putting  up  tents,  it  tran- 
spired that  another  regimen*-,  occupying  adjoining  ground, 
claimed  the  space  necessary  for  our  left  company  and  proposed 
to  hold  it,  whether  or  no.  When  argument  and  expostulation 
availed  nothing,  a  part  of  the  Twenty-seventh  was  put  under 
arms.  That  quickly  decided  the  matter  in  our  favor — they 
did  not  care  to  dispute  the   question  with  us  in  that  way. 

This  camp  was  all  right  until  after  the  first  rain,  when  it 
was  soon  several  inches  deep  in  mud.  The  ground  having 
never  been  plowed,  the  more  it  was  tramped  the  deeper  and 
nastier  the  mud  became.  Hence  another  move  w^as  unavoid- 
able. The  distance  was  not  over  two  or  three  hundred  yards. 
We  transferred  our  belongings  without  regard  to  order.  Here 
we  were  on  the  bank  of  another   creek   called  Muddy  Branch. 

In  establishing  ourselves  this  time  a  new  feature  was 
introduced  with  reference  to  our  sleeping  arrangements. 
Instead  of  straw,  which  could  not  be  had,  or  dry  leaves,  which 
we  had  heretofore  used  as  a  substitute  for  straw,  we  were 
ordered  to  use  pine  or  cedar  boughs.  They  seemed  coarse  and 
hard  at  first,  but  afterwards  came  to  be  a  regular  standby. 
There  was  no  more  familiar  sight,  later  on,  than  that  of  a 
soldier,  with  his  rubber  blanket,  gathering  boughs  for  his  bed. 

Our  medical  authorities  strongly  advised  also  that  we 
raise  our  beds  up  off  the  ground  on  platforms  of  small  poles. 
This  we  were  not  then  soldiers  enough  to  do.  When  we  came 
to  know  more  of  our  high  calling,  we  uniformly  did  this  from 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  65 

our  own  choice,  when  there  was  any  prospect  of  perma- 
nency in  a  camp. 

Both  of  these  locations  went  by  a  common  name,  Camp 
Joe  Holt.  In  the  familiar  parlance  of  the  regiment  they  are 
frequently  called  Camp  Muddy  Branch.  In  the  two  we 
remained  over  five  weeks.  Notwithstanding  a  good  many 
discomforts  and  disagreeable  features,  most  of  the  men  doubt- 
less have  more  or  less  pleasant  recollections  of  our  stay  at  this 
place.  It  was  an  out-of-way,  lonesome  locality,  not  only 
removed  from  any  town  or  village,  but  from  all  public  roads, 
and  all  sights  and  sounds  of  the  busy  world,  as  well.  The 
whole  time  we  were  there,  not  only  the  toot  and  roar  of  rail- 
road trains  were  entirely  unknown,  but  not  as  much  as  an 
army  mule-team  or  an  ambulance  wagon,  not  connected  with 
our  own  regiment,  passed  in  sight.  There  was  also  consider- 
able sickness  among  us,  and  those  who  were  at  all  able  were 
again  drilled  without  stint.  We  had  a  regular  hand-to-hand 
tussle  with  the  measles  and  with  the  measly  drill  masters. 

Of  all  liabilities  in  the  army,  measles  may  be  set  down  as 
among  the  worst.  The  soldier  who  has  not  had  the  genuine 
and  only  right  kind,  and  had  it  out  and  out,  previous  to  his 
enlistment,  is  to  be  commiserated.  He  is  more  apt  to  die 
from  that  cause  than  to  be  killed  in  battle.  Different  mem- 
bers of  the  regiment  took  the  measles  about  the  time  the  Balls 
Bluff  move  was  made.  The  bad  weather  and  exposure  inci- 
dent to  that  move  were  at  exactly  the  wrong  time  for  them. 
vSeveral  splendid  boys  died  at  once  and  others  lingered  along 
until  carried  off  by  pneumonia.  Many  others  were  taken  with 
the  disease  after  we  arrived  at  Camp  Joe  Holt. 

We  had  thought  we  were  doing  the  subject  of  drill  at 
least  full  justice,  before  this,  if  not  overdoing  it.  But  when 
we  arrived  here  the  authorities,  somewhere  above  us,  seemed 
suddenly  to  awake  to  the  fact  that  the  Twenty-seventh  ought 
to  be  drilled.  A  swarm  of  sergeants  from  the  other  regi- 
ments, slightly  older  than  ours,  appeared  in  camp  under 
detail  to  drill  us.  Neither  officers  nor  men  took  over-kindly 
to  this.  In  some  of  the  companies  the  sergeants  came  and 
assisted  for  awhile,  but  in  others  there  was  no  use  made  of 
them.  By  far  the  best  step  that  was  taken  was  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  school  of  instruction  for  the  officers  of  the  regiment. 
Then,  as  fast  as  they  learned,  they  taught  the  men.  All  that 
the  Twenty-seventh  ever  lacked  was  more  of  that  same  medi- 


66  HISTORY    OF    THE 

cine,  in  more  heroic  doses.  No  command  in  an  army  can  rise 
much  above  its  officers  in  anything.  Therefore,  an  officer 
who  does  not  thoroughly  imderstand  the  duties  of  his  position 
should  study  day  and  night  until  he  does  so  understand  them, 
or  leave  the  service.  Without  the  least  prejudice  or  ill  will,  it 
may  be  truthfully  said  that  the  original  officers  of  the 
Twenty  seventh  largely  came  short  in  this  respect.  The  same 
seems  to  have  been  true  quite  generally  in  the  Civil  war  of 
officers  appointed  directly  from  civil  life,  without  previous 
experience.  A  large  proportion  of  them  never  became  any- 
4:hing  more  than  clever  blunderers. 

The  question  of  finding  the  right  kind  of  officers  for  the 
patriotic  young  men  who  are  always  ready  to  respond  to  the 
call  of  country,  in  an  emergency  such  as  this,  is  an  old  one, 
not  likely  ever  to  be  settled  to  I  he  satisfaction  of  all.  In  the 
Civil  war  those  regiments  which  had  colonels  or  lieutenant- 
colonels,  or  both,  who  had  been  educated  at  West  Point  and 
afterward  had  had  sufficient  experience  in  civil  life  to  broaden 
them  out  somewhat  and  develop  in  them  sympathy  for  men 
and  practical  common  sense  in  meeting  the  requirements  of 
unusual  situations,  as  a  rule,  made  the  best  all-around  military 
organizations.  To  this,  however,  there  were  exceptions. 
While  those  West  Pointers  who  had  recently  been  graduated, 
or  had  had  no  experience  outside  of  army  life,  were  often  so 
bigoted,  overbearing  and  unjust  as  to  be  unfit  for  anything 
except  to  be  shot,  some  such  as  these  were  greatly  improved 
by  the  furnace  heat  of  actual  war.  The  only  officers  who,  as 
a  class,  were  worthless  at  the  start  and  never  improved  after- 
ward, were  those  who  imagined  that  they  already  knew 
enough  and  did  not  try  to  learn  any  more.  At  the  head  of 
this  list  were  those  who  had  been  trained  in  the  militia  of 
some  of  the  states  or  in  the  standing  army  of  some  foreign 
country.  Many  of  the  disasters  of  the  war,  as  well  as 
most  of  its  petty  blunders  and  wrongs,  can  be  traced  directly 
to  one  or  the  other  of  these  sources. 

The  writer's  answer  to  the  question,  "  Where  shall  offi- 
cers be  found  for  our  volunteer  soldiers  ?  "  is  :  A|  point  them 
from  civil  life — from  men  living  in  the  same  communities 
where  the  rank  and  file  have  lived,  and  where  both  expect  to 
live  again  when  their  term  of  service  expires  ;  hold  them  to 
the  same  strict  accountability  for  the  way  they  spend  their 
time  and  the  quality  of  service  they   render   that  is   expected 


TWEXTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  67 

from  men  of  all  ranks  in  the  army;  make  them  feel  that 
they  must  learn  to  do  their  work  thoroughly  and  faithfully  or 
get  out  of  the  way  and  give  somebody  else  a  chance  ;  do  not 
appoint  drill  masters  for  the  men  or  allow  the  officers  to 
appoint  them  ;  above  all,  do  not  allow  the  officers  to  hire  drill 
masters  for  the  men  ;  let  promotions  mainly  follow  the  order 
of  rank,  always  filling  higher  stations  from  those  below  ;  no 
favoritism  on  account  of  political  influence,  wealth  or  parent- 
age. These  rules  are  practicable,  and  there  never  has  been  a 
case,  where  they  were  even  measurably  followed,  that  the 
results  did  not  justify  them. 

All  in  all,  these  weeks  at  Camp  Joe  Holt  witnessed  decided 
progress  in  the  Twenty-seventh.  We  not  only  became  more 
proficient  in  the  technical  duties  of  soldiers,  the  manual  of 
arms,  the  ability  to  keep  step,  to  march  in  line,  to  wheel  and 
change  positions  and  formations,  but  we  seemed  also  to  catch 
on  to  those  wider  and  even  more  essential  duties,  viz.,  a  ready 
and  cheerful  obedience  to  rightful  authority;  an  apprehension 
of  our  own  individual  spheres  of  action  and  a  laudable  pride 
and  ambition  in  trying  to  be  faithful  and  exact  in  all  things. 
We  came  to  understand  that  a  soldier  in  an  army,  whatever  his 
rank  or  station,  is  simply  one  wheel,  or  maybe  only  a  cog,  in 
a  great  piece  of  machinery,  and  for  the  whole  to  be  perfect, 
means  that  every  one  must  do  his  whole  duty.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  we  first  became  imbued  with  that  invisible  some- 
thing, called  the  military  spirit,  which  once  in  a  man  never 
leaves  him  until  he  is  ready  for  his  coffin.  It  causes  him  to 
stand  erect,  to  throw  his  shoulders  back  and  his  chest  forward. 
It  imparts  a  certain  well-defined  character  to  his  walk.  It 
makei  him  at  home  in  a  camp.  It  enables  him  to  laugh  at 
discomforts  and  to  find  enjoyment  within  very  circumscribed 
limits.  Most,  if  not  all,  will  doubtless  agree  that  from  this 
time  dates  the  development  of  the  Twenty-seventh  into  a 
regiment  of  volunteer  soldiers.  Before  that  we  were  not 
really  ready  for  active  service  ;  after  that  we  were. 

As  at  this  camp  we  also  first  came  to  understand  such 
terms  as  Officer  of  the  Day,  Grand  Rounds,  Inspection  and 
Muster  for  Pay,  they  should  perhaps  be  mentioned  in  this 
connection. 

The  officer  of  the  day  is  a  commissioned  officer,  detailed 
to  have  a  general  oversight  of  the  camp.  He  is  especially  in 
command  of  the  guards  and  pickets,  and  sees  that  the  rules  of 


68  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  camp  are  generally  observed.  He  reports  every  tiling  out 
of  the  way  to  the  commanding  officer.  If  he  is  regimental 
officer  of  the  day  his  duties  pertain  to  the  regiment  only.  If 
brigade  or  division  officer  of  the  day  his  duties  are  wider  in 
proportion.  In  the  latter  case,  a  major  or  lieutenant-colonel 
is  commonly  detailed.  The  same  person  acts  for  but  one  day. 
The  officer  of  the  day  loops  his  sash  over  his  shoulder,  passing 
it  across  his  breast  from  right  to  left  and  wraps  it  around  his 
waist.  By  that  insignia  everybody  understands  what  his 
position  is. 

As  the  officer  of  the  day  passes  around  on  his  duties,  he  is 
entitled  to  special  attention,  particularly  from  all  guards  and 
pickets.  Any  such,  on  his  approach,  must  stand  at  "attention, "^ 
and  when  he  passes,  must  salute  him.  When  he  approaches 
the  reserve  guards  or  pickets,  the  nearest  one  on  post  must 
give  notice  to  those  not  on  post  by  shouting  "Turn  out 
the  guards,  the  officer  of  the  day."  At  this  they  fall  in  line 
and  stand  at  "  attention,"  until  he  is  near,  when  they  present 
arms.  The  officer  of  the  day,  accompanied  by  the  officer  of 
the  guard,  or  sergeant  of  the  guard,  must  make  at  least  one 
trip  around  the  camp  and  along  the  guard  or  picket  line  during 
the  night.  When  discharging  that  duty  he  is  styled  "Grand 
Rounds."  It  is  even  more  important  to  be  wide  awake  and 
receive  the  grand  rounds  properly  than  the  officer  of  the  day. 
Woe  to  the  poor  unfortunate  whom  the  grand  rounds  finds 
asleep,  or  seriously  direlect  in  anything  :  he  is  sure  to  be  put  in 
the  guard-house  and  perhaps  courtmartialed  and  punished,  or  at 
the  least,  made  to  do  extra  duty.  For  these  reasons  the  officer 
of  the  day  or  grand  rounds  is  a  terror  to  inexperienced  soldiers. 
This  often  makes  it  still  harder  for  them  to  receive  him  prop- 
erly. Many  ludicrous  blunders  are  made.  Inexperienced 
officers,  in  command  of  guards  and  pickets,  if  any  difference, 
make  more  mistakes  than  the  men.  They  often  give  the 
command  to  present  arms  when  the  men  are  facing  the  wrong^ 
way  or  standing  at  an  order  arms.  Soldiers  also  often  blun- 
der and  stammer  and  finally  get  out  the  wrong  words,  owing 
to  the  embarrassment  they  feel. 

Our  instructions  when  on  duty  were,  if  we  heard  or  saw 
any  one  coming,  to  say,  "Who  comes  there?"  If  answered, 
"  Grand  Rounds,"  we  said  "Halt,  Grand  Rounds!  advance 
Sergeant,  and  give  the  countersign."  We  took  the  counter- 
sign from  the  sergeant  over  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  if 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  69 

right  we  said  "  Correct,  advance,  Grand  Rounds."  One  night 
in  particular,  at  Camp  Joe  Holt,  when  a  large  relief  was 
brought  in,  they  were  lectured  severely,  and  told  that  only  one 
of  them  all  used  the  right  words,  in  the  right  order.  But  the 
blundering  was  not  always  confined  to  those  on  post.  One 
night  while  in  this  camp  an  Irish  sentinel,  when  he  gave  the 
challenge,  "  Who  comes  there?"  was  answered  "  Officer  of  the 
day."  Quick  as  wink  he  replied,  "To  h-1  with  your  officer 
of  the  day  !  its  high  time  the  officer  of  the  night  was  getting 
around." 

Inspections  were  held  to  see  that  the  soldiers  had  the  nec- 
essary arms,  equipments  and  clothing,  and  that  these  and  the 
tents  and  grounds  were  kept  clean  and  orderly.  Company 
inspections  were  conducted  by  the  company  officers,  general 
inspections  by  regimental  or  brigade  commanders,  or  those  ap- 
pointed by  them.  Company  inspections  were,  as  a  rule,  held 
every  Sunday  morning.  Sometimes  they  were  omitted  when 
on  the  march,  but  not  always.  Notice  was  usually  given  at 
morning  roll  call  that  there  would  be  company  inspection  at 
a  certain  hour.  Then  followed  a  busy  season  of  scouring, 
sweeping,  dusting,  blacking,  shaving,  washing,  etc.,  etc.  In 
this,  guns,  cartridge  boxes,  belts,  clothing,  shoes  and  persons, 
as  well  as  tents  and  grounds,  all  received  attention.  At  the 
appointed  time  the  orderly  sergeant  formed  the  company  in 
two  ranks,  brought  it  to  a  present  arms  and  turned  the  com- 
mand over  to  the  captain. 

If  it  was  to  be  company  inspection  the  captain 
proceeded  with  it  at  once.  By  the  proper  commands 
he  placed  the  company  in  two  lines,  four  paces  apart, 
facing  toward  each  other,  with  all  the  ramrods  inside  the  gun 
barrels.  He  then  started  at  the  head  of  one  line,  passed  down 
it  and  up  the  other.  Each  soldier,  as  the  captain  approached, 
held  his  gun  up  in  such  a  position  that  the  captain  could  easily 
see  it  and  as  easily  take  it.  The  captain  generally  took  each 
gun.  He  first  shook  it  up  and  down,  so  as  to  rattle  the  ram- 
rod in  the  barrel.  By  the  sound  it  made  he  could  judge  as  to 
whether  the  inside  of  the  barrel  was  clean  or  not.  If  not  sat- 
isfied with  this  test  he  rubbed  the  ramrod  up  and  down  in  the 
barrel,  then  took  it  out  and  examined  it  carefullv  for  any 
signs  of  rust  or  dirt.  He  next  looked  the  gun  over  on  the  out- 
side and  critically  observed  the  appearance  of  the  soldier  him- 
self, from  his  shoes  to  his  cap.      Then  tossing  the  gun  back,  in 


70  HISTORY    OF    THE 

a  manner  calculated  to  knock  the  soldier  down  if  not  on  his 
guard,  he  passed  to  the  next.  When  necessary,  questions 
were  asked  and  explanations  and  excuses  (very  brief  ones) 
were  heard.  In  inspecting  the  cartridge  boxes  the  captain 
passed  behind  each  line.  They  were  unbuckled  before  he 
began  and  as  he  passed  the  flaps  were  raised  so  he  could  note 
whether  each  article  was  there  that  should  be  and  whether  the 
soldier  had  the  requisite  number  of  cartridges. 

If  the  inspection  was  to  include  knapsacks,  it  was  so 
stated  when  the  order  was  given  to  prepare  for  it.  In  that 
case,  the  men  had  their  knapsacks  on  when  they  fell  in  line. 
After  the  arms  were  inspected  they  were  stacked  and  the  cap- 
tain proceeded  to  inspect  the  knapsacks.  Each  soldier  unslung 
his  knapsack,  at  the  command,  and  placed  it  on  the  ground 
before  him,  open.  The  captain  then  passed  along  and  exam- 
ined the  contents  of  each  one  separately,  often  stooping  down 
to  unroll  the  different  articles  to  make  sure  that  they  were  all 
there  and  in  proper  condition.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
inspection,  if  there  was  to  be  Divine  service  that  day,  the 
company  was  marched  without  arms  to  the  appointed  place 
for  it,  or  else  the  announcement  of  the  service  was  made  and 
the  company  was  dismissed. 

Just  before  or  just  after  the  inspection  of  arms  and  knap- 
sacks the  captain  made  a  circuit  of  the  company  quarters,  to 
see  that  the  tents  and  grounds  were  clean  and  orderl3^  Delin- 
quents at  inspections  were  sometimes  given  an  opportunity  to 
make  good  their  deficiencies,  and  sometimes  punished,  often 
both.  As  our  service  lengthened  these  inspections  became 
more  and  more  rigid.  The}'  were  seen  to  be  more  and  more 
important.  At  home  cleanliness  is  next  to  Godliness.  In  the 
army,  if  Godliness  is  sometimes  neglected,  cleanliness  never 
should  be. 

General  inspections  were  not  so  called  because  a  general 
conducted  them.  They  were  often  ordered  by  a  general,  and 
sometimes  conducted  by  one,  more  frequently  by  a  member  of 
his  staff.  The  name  was  probably  given  because  of  the  wide 
range  the  inspection  was  to  take.  It  meant  that  everybody 
and  everything  in  the  command  was  to  be  inspected.  General 
inspections  were  conducted  substantially  the  same  as  company 
inspections. 

While  at  Camp  Joe  Holt  there  was  an  order  from  Gen- 
eral Hamilton   for   a   general   inspection.     As  we   had   never 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  JT 

seen  one  we  were  curious  to  know  what  it  would  consist  of. 
After  a  great  cleaning  up  the  regiment  was  formed  in  line  and 
stood  quite  awhile,  waiting  for  something.  All,  except  per- 
haps a  few  on  the  right  wing,  supposed  we  were  waiting  for 
General  Hamilton.  We  were  expecting  to  see  him  come 
dashing  into  camp,  mounted  and  in  full-dress  uniform,  fol- 
lowed by  staff  and  orderlies.  At  length  our  attention  was 
attracted  by  somebody  coming  slowly  down  the  line  from  the 
right,  on  foot.  As  he  came  nearer  we  saw  it  was  the  General 
himself.  Nobody  was  with  him  but  our  Colonel,  and  pos- 
sibly one  member  of  the  General's  staff.  He  was  walking 
quite  close  to  the  line,  nosing  along,  as  if  looking  for  some- 
thing or  somebody  that  was  lost.  He  doubtless  knew  for 
himself  about  the  Twenty-seventh  after  that. 

Muster  for  pay  was  attended  to  regularly  the  first  day  of 
every  month.  It  was  seldom  postponed  ;  never  unless  engaged 
in  battle  or  likely  to  be,  or  unless  the  muster-rolls  were  not 
accessible.  Muster  for  pay  consists  simply  in  assembling 
each  company  and  calling  the  roll,  previously  prepared,  care- 
fully noting  the  facts  about  each  person  named,  so  that  there 
shall  be  no  mistake  as  to  the  pay  due  each  one.  We  had  our 
first  muster-for-pay  the  first  day  of  October,  at  Camp  Joe 
Holt.  It  was  the  first  whisper  we  had  heard  about  pay  since 
our  enlistment.  We  had  said  very  little,  if  anything,  about 
it  among  ourselves.  But,  as  we  had  scarcely  seen  a  cent  of 
money  for  a  month  or  more,  it  was  a  most  welcome  sugges- 
tion. The  disappointment  came  in  the  fact  that  muster  for 
pay  and  the  pay  itself  are  quite  different  things.  The  muster 
comes  regularly,  but  the  pay  comes  when  it  may.  In  this 
instance  it  did  not  come  for  more  than  a  month  after  the 
muster. 

The  first  military  funeral  the  writer  witnessed  was  at 
Camp  Joe  Holt.  Some  had  died  in  the  regiment  betore  this, 
but,  if  their  burials  were  conducted  according  to  army  regula- 
tions, he  did  not  see  them.  The  following  exact  description 
of  such  a  burial  is  copied  from  Chaplain  Qiiint.*  "  A  suitable 
escort  (for  a  private,  eight  rank  and  file,  properly  commanded) 
is  formed  in  two  ranks  opposite  to  the  tent  of  the  deceased,  with 
shouldered  arms  and  bayonets  unfixed.  On  the  appearance  of 
the  coffin  the  soldiers  present  arms.    The  procession  then  forms^ 


*Potomac  to  the  Rapidan,  p.  22. 


72  HISTORY    OF    THE 

on  each  side  of  the  coffin  being  three  bearers,  without  arms, 
immediately  preceding  are  the  eight  soldiers  with  arms 
reversed  (the  musket  under  the  left  arm,  barrel  downward, 
and  steadied  by  the  right  hand  behind  the  back)  ;  in  front  is 
the  music,  than  whose  dirge  no  sadder  sounds  ever  fell  upon 
my  ear,  as  they  proceed  to  the  place  of  burial.  With  slow 
and  measured  step  and  muffled  drum  they  move.  At  the 
grave  the  coffin  is  placed  upon  one  side,  the  soldiers  resting 
upon  their  arms,  the  muzzle  upon  the  foot,  the  hands  clasped 
upon  the  butt  and  the  head  bowed  upon  the  hands.  The 
chaplain,  who  has  walked  in  the  rear  of  the  coffin,  conducts 
the  burial  service;  'earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to 
dust.'  Three  volleys  are  fired  over  the  grave,  and  the  last 
kindness  to  the  comrade  is  over." 

To  be  true  to  the  chronology  in  the  case,  an  incident 
must  be  related  here,  at  the  risk  of  breaking  in  upon  the 
solemnity  of  the  subject.  A  member  of  one  of  our  companies 
died  in  the  hospital  at  Darnestown,  and  the  captain  very 
properly  went  from  camp  with  a  detail  to  bury  him.  There 
were  probably  twenty  in  the  squad,  all  armed.  While  march- 
ing along,  they  suddenl}/  met  the  major-general.  The  captain, 
thinking  he  ought  to  do  something,  but  not  knowing  what  to 
do,  brought  the  men  to  a  present  arms,  without  halting.  The 
general  gravely  returned  the  salute  (or  what  was  intended 
for  one),  and  rode  on,  but  the  members  of  his  staff  well-nigh 
bursted,  in  trying  to  keep  from  laughing,  as  our  Twenty- 
seventh  squad  waddled  along  in  the  road,  holding  their  guns 
in  front  of  them.  As  we  all  learned  later,  and  as  the  captain 
should  have  known  then,  the  proper  thing  to  do  was  simply 
to  bring  the  men  to  a  shoulder  arms. 

During  the  latter  part  of  our  stay  on  Muddy  Branch,  the 
weather  became  very  cold.  vSeveral  mornings  there  was  ice, 
once  two  inches  thick.  The  officers  bought  small  sheet-iron 
stoves,  which  could  easily  be  arranged  in  their  wall  tents,  and 
made  themselves  comfortable.  The  tents  for  the  men  were  not 
adapted  to  make-shifts  of  that  kind,  or  any  other,  in  fact. 
They  were  too  flat,  so  that  an  opening  could  not  be  made  in 
them  to  let  the  pipe  out  without  letting  in  the  rain. 
We  still  had  the  same  tents  we  had  drawn  at  Indianapolis. 
In  shape  they  resembled  an  old-time  cow  bell,  only  they  were 
proportionately  more  flaring  at  the  bottom.  Though  large 
enough  around  to  accommodate  sixteen   men,  they    were  only 


TWENTY -SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


73 


about  seven  feet  high  at  the  highest  point.  Their  shape  at 
the  ground  being  oval,  it  was  hard  to  raise  them  higher  by 
building  under  them.  Some  of  the  men  arranged  to  warm 
their  tents  by  digging  trenches  through  them,  and  covering 
them  with  flat  stones  and  earth.  The  fire  was  built  at  the  mouth 
of  the  trench,  near  the  tent  door;  at  the  other  end  was. some 
kind  of  a  chimney  which  drew  the  heat  through  the  trench, 
thus  warming  the  top  or  covering  and  to  some  extent  the  air 
of  the  tent  was  warmed  also.     But  most  of  the  men  had  no 


Lieut-Col.  AIorkison. 

RECENT    portrait. 


1st  Lieut.  John  R.  Rankin. 
taken  when  a  sergeant. 


fire,  except  on  the  outside.  ^V^hen  the  weather  was  wet  it  was 
cheerless  enough.  An  Esquimaux  family,  sitting  in  a  snow 
house,  with  folded  arms  and  stolid  countenances,  found  their 
counterpart  many  times  over  in  our  camp  that  fall.  We 
were  surrounded  everywhere  with  pine  trees,  several  being  in 
the  camp,  and  that  doleful  soughing  which  the  wind  makes 
as  it  passes  through  them,  added  its  influence  to  our  discom- 
fort. It  was  here  that  some  one  said,  "  He'd  be  blessed  if  he 
■ever  wanted  any  more  pine  trees  around  him  for  ornaments." 
Shortly  after  our  arrival   at   camp  Joe  Holt,  Lieutenant- 


<4  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Colonel  Harrison  resigned  and  went  home.  He  had  not  been 
with  us  long  enough  to  make  much  of  a  record,  but  all  admired 
him  for  his  courteous,  gentlemanly  bearing,  and  the  little  he 
had  done  gave  promise  of  commendable  efficiency  as  an  officer. 
Captain  McGrew,  of  Company  I,  also  resigned,  while  we  were 
at  this  camp.  The  time  had  not  yet  come  when  company 
officers  were  much  known  outside  of  their  own  commands, 
and  even  there  they  were  mostlv  untried.  Captain  Morrison, 
of  Company  A,  was  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel  on  the 
recommendation  of  a  majority  of  the  commissioned  officers. 
Thus  the  same  authority  which  had  placed  Major  jNIehringer 
over  him  at  Camp  Morton  now  placed  him  over  the  Major. 

Fidelity  to  facts  makes  it  necessary  to  record  one  other  in 
connection  with  this  period.  While  here  our  band  arrived » 
twenty-tive  able-bodied  men.  They  had  been  reeruited 
in  Indiana  after  our  departure.  On  one  point,  as  w^ell  as 
many  others,  this  history  must  be  deficient.  It  is  :  Why 
our  band  never  succeeded  any  better  than  it  did  ?  That  it 
always  remained  in  the  background  we  all  know.  The  mem- 
bers were  fine-looking,  well-behaved  men.  They  doubtless 
had  patriotic  motives  in  coming  into  the  army.  It  may  be 
that  they  were  not  provided  with  suitable  instruments,  or 
that  they  were  not  properly  handled  by  those  in  authority,  or 
something  else  may  have  caused  the  failure,  for  which  none  of 
them  were  to  blame.  The  facts  are  unknown  to  the  writer. 
Only  this  can  be  said,  it  would  have  been  more  to  the  credit 
of  the  men  themselves  and  to  the  regiment,  if  we  never  had 
had  a  brass  band.  Their  names  onlv  encumber  our  muster 
rolls  and  serve  to  lower  all  our  creditable  percents.  The  little 
music  they  ever  attempted  to  play  made  the  regiment,  as  well 
as  themselves,  a  subject  of  derision.* 

The  time  spent  at  Camp  Joe  Holt,  as  well  as  the  previous 
two  weeks  at  Camp  Hamilton,  and  the.  subsequent  two 
months  at  Camp  Halleck,  were  the  sifting  periods  of  the 
Twenty-seventh.  That  a  few  men  were  carried  off  by  sick- 
ness contracted  by  exposure  that  would  have  had  the  same 
effect  upon  any  of  us,  is  doubtless  true  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  those 
only  fell  by  the  way,  at  this  stage  in  their  service,  whose 
constitutions  were   too  frail   or  too  much   impaired,  to  endure 


*A11  regimental  bands  and  drum-majors  were  mubtered  out  by 
order  of  the  war  department  before  the  end  of  the  first  year  of 
the  war. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  (5 

the  severe  ordeals  of  army  life.  Let  us  drop  a  tear  to  their 
memory.  That  they  did  not  accomplish  more  towards  sup- 
pressing the  rebellion  was  not  because  it  was  not  in  tlieir 
hearts  to  do  more. 

Much  of  the  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Camp  Joe  Holt,  like 
other  vast  sections  in  eastern  Maryland  and  Virginia,  had  once 
been  under  cultivation,  but  becoming  so  impoverished  that 
nothing  would  grow  upon  it,  had  been  abandoned.  It  was  said 
that  this  was  the  result  of  the  reckless  and  persistent  raising  of 
tobacco  by  slave  labor  in  Colonial  times.  Fences  had  long 
since  rotted  down  or  been  removed ;  a  thick  growth  of  pine 
now  covered  most  of  such  fields.  The  size  of  some  of  this  pine, 
as  well  as  other  facts  observable,  impressed  us  with  the  great 
length  of  time,  relatively,  that  the  country  had  been  settled. 
In  an  old  burying  ground,  near  our  camp,  the  figures  on  the 
rude  sandstone  monuments  indicated  that  interments  there 
had  been  as  early  as  1645.  Growing  over  some  of  the  graves 
were  white  oak  trees  nearly,  or  quite,  two  feet  in  diameter. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


CAMP  HALLECK  OR  HOOSIER  CITY. 

The  morning  of  December  2d,  we  left  Camp  Joe  Holt,  in 
obedience  to  orders  received  the  day  before.  It  is  to  be 
doubted  whether  we  ever  made  another  move  when  there  were 
as  few  false  and  contradictory  rumors  about  our  destination. 
It  was  an  open  secret  this  time,  seemingly  understood  by  all. 
that  we  were  going  to  the  vicinity  of  Frederick,  to  go  into 
winter  quarters.  And  this  instance  almost  stands  alone  also 
in  the  fact  that  even  what  was  ordered,  especially  of  a  desir- 
able character,  came  to  pass  according  to  the  programme. 

Those  who  were  bad  sick  weie  forwarded  to  Washington 
by  canal*,  and  the  convalescents  and  heavier  commissary  stores 
were  sent  to  Point-of-Rocks  by  canal,  thence  to  Frederick  by 
rail.  The  morning  the  regiment  started  was  cold  and  raw, 
later  in  the  day  the  sun  shone  mildlv.  We  marched  through 
Darnestown,  going  out  the  same  road  we  had  taken  to  Coon- 
rods  Ferry.  Before  coming  quite  to  Poolsville  we  turned  to 
the  right  and  soon  camped  for  the  night.  We  had  marched 
about  ten  miles. 

The  next  day  we  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  character 
^vell  remembered  by  all  who  soldiered  in  western  Maryland, 
Sugar  Loaf  Mountain.  We  passed  laboriously  along  his  west- 
ern base,  over  his  stony  foot-hills  and  spurs,  that  day.  He 
was  in  plain  sight  in  the  morning,  likewise  at  night.  There 
he  stood,  lifting  his  great,  bald  headup  among  the  clouds  and, 
diminutive  creatures  that  we  were,  we  could  march  all  day  in 


*It  is  on  record — sworn  testimony  before  a  court-martial — that 
these  men  were  taken  from  this  point  to  Alexandria,  Va.,  in  an 
open  coal  barg-e,  and  that  they  were  laid  in  two  rows,  cross-wise  of 
the  barg-e,  heads  in  and  feet  out,  upon  a  bed  of  corn-stalks.  When 
it  was  found  that  there  were  more  than  would  g-o  in  these  two  rows 
they  were  moved  farther  apart  and  men  were  laid  the  other  way, 
between  them.  More  than  this,  when  the  barge  arrived  at  Alexan- 
dria it  was  found  that  it  had  leaked  on  the  way,  and  that  many, 
if  not  all,  of  the  men  were  lying-  in  water. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  77 

his  shadow!  That  night  we  camped  on  a  rocky  hill-side,  too 
steep  to  put  up  our  tents  if  we  had  had  them.  Our  wagons 
did  not  come  up  until  too  late  for  that.  Straw  and  rails  were 
plentiful  and  we  used  both  unsparingly.  Probably  a  third  of 
the  regiment  stole  away  after  dark  and  slept  in  neighboring 
barns  and  strawstacks.  Those  who  remained  were  not  any 
too  comfortable,  with  a  keen  northwest  wind  sweeping  the 
hillside,  but  they  were  much  more  so  than  they  often  were 
afterwards. 

When  we  had  fairly  started,  the  third  morning,  we  passed 
a  citizen  who  said  it  was  five  miles  to  Frederick,  Going  a  hun- 
dred yards  or  so  farther,  we  suddenly  turned  the  point  of  a 
hill,  and  there  was  Frederick  !  apparently  at  our  feet.  The 
sun  being  rather  at  our  backs,  throwing  his  bright  beam.s 
squarely  upon  the  many  white  buildings  and  spires  and  the 
metal-covered  domes  of  the  city,  made  it  seem  deceptively 
near.  At  once  we  all  began  to  denounce  these  Maryland 
people  as  monumental  liars.  If  one  should  prevaricate  in 
some  of  his  answers  to  the  myriads  of  questions  fired  at  him, 
not  in  the  highest  style  of  courtesy,  by  a  passing  regiment,  it 
would  not  be  strange,  though  this  gentleman  had  not.  We 
did  not  go  to  Frederick  that  day,  but  we  soon  found,  con- 
clusively, that  the  distance  had  not  been  misrepresented.  We 
had  really  camped  about  two  miles  below  Fredrick  Junction. 
Following  a  road  skirting  the  bluff's,  east  of  the  Monocacy, 
we  crossed  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  a  short  distance 
east  of  where  it  crosses  the  river.  It  was  a  cheering  sight 
for  us  to  look  upon  the  track  of  a  railroad  again.  When  we 
heard  the  first  whistle  of  a  locomotive  there  was  a  spontane- 
ous cheer.  We  had  seen  or  heard  nothing  of  the  kind  since 
leaving  Washington,  in  September.  We  finally  halted,  and 
went  into  camp  in  the  orchard  of  a  ISIr.  Clay,  five  miles  from 
Fredrick,  on  the  Ijamsville  road. 

The  second  day  we  were  at  this  place  was  a  welcome  one. 
ISIajor  Richardson,  a  paymaster,  came  and  paid  us  from  date 
of  enrollment  to  November  1st,  in  shining  gold  and  interest- 
bearing  treasury  notes.  How  rich  we  all  felt !  But,  as  usual, 
prosperity  brought  with  it  trials  and  temptations.  Peddlers 
speedily  became  as  thick  around  camp  as  the  frogs  in  the 
plague,  and,  as  for  gambling,  there  was  a  regular  whirlwind 
of  it.  It  is  questionable  which  was  the  most  useless  way  of 
getting  rid  of  money.     The  articles  sold  by  the  peddlers  were 


78 


IIISTORV    OF    THE 


almost  worthless,  but  at  fabulous  prices.  The  colonel  made 
heroic  efforts  to  protect  the  unwary  from  the  seductions  of 
both  the  peddler  and  gambler.  It  has  always  seemed  to  the 
writer  that  he  was  not  as  well  supported  by  his  subordinate 
officers,  particularly^  by  the  company  officers,  as  he  should 
have  been.  Despite  all  efforts,  a  great  deal  of  money  went 
one  Vv^ay  or  the  other. 

December    12,    our    brigade    was    reviewed    by    General 


g',. 

Jifi*^'  ■■*  N. 

f  >  c  1 

0^  , 

/B^PB^Hm 

i^^^^^^^Ef 

•ato 

• 

Sergt.  James  E.   Smyth,  Co.  A. 

RECENT    PORTRAIT. 


Tarvin  C.  Stone, 
commissary  sergeant. 


Banks,  in  a  field  north  of  Frederick.  That  was  our  first  dose 
of  the  kind,  and  it  was  heroic.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac 
will  stand  scandalized  until  the  crack  of  doom,  on  account  of 
its  many  so-called  "Grand  Reviews,"  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  were  conducted.  Fight  it  would,  and  did!  His- 
tory records  no  more  desperately  bloody  battles.  In  the 
spirit  with  which  it  met  and  endured  hardships  and  priva- 
tions, no  army  in  the  wide  world  ever  surpassed  it.  In  the 
deathless  way  it  held  to  its  purpose  and  kept  heart  under  ter- 
ribly discouraging  buffetings  and  reverses,  happily  no  large 
army  in  the  Civil  war  was  given  a  chance  to  equal  it.  And 
in  all  the  virtues  of  a  soldier  and  patriot,  most  of  those  high 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  79 

in  authority  averaged  well  up  to  those  below  them.  How,  in 
this  democratic  country,  with  the  severe  simplicity  of  our 
institutions  and  habits  of  life,  and  at  a  time  when  all  that  was 
dearest  to  a  loyal  man  seemed  ready  to  perish,  such  men  could 
countenance  (not  to  say  instigate  and  foster)  such  stupendous 
and  transparent  folly,  is  hard  to  understand.  This  review  was 
one  of  the  worst  of  its  class — by  far  the  worst  we  ever  saw  I 
In  the  great  disproportion  between  the  hardships  imposed 
upon  the  soldiers  to  hold  it,  and  any  possible  good  that  could 
come  of  it  ;  in  the  monstrous  vanity  and  nonsense  displayed 
by  officers,  in. contrast  with  the  real  efficiency  shown  later  on, 
it  could  not  have  been  outdone. 

The  Twenty-seventh  did  not  enjoy  the  occasion  at  all. 
It  was  a  very  trying  day  on  the  regiment  physically.  The 
weather  was  lovely  —  clear  and  mild.  It  was  some  enjoy- 
ment, also,  to  pass  through  the  city  of  Frederick  and  have  a 
little  look  at  scenes  outside  of  camp.  But,  in  addition  to  the 
work  of  preparation,  it  required  a  march  of  five  miles  each 
way  to  reach  the  place.  Then,  we  marched  two  or  three 
miles  farther,  in  getting  position,  passing  in  review, 
etc.  At  one  time  we  must  have  marched  a  full  mile  or  more 
at  a  shoulder-arms!  At  the  end  of  the  time  our  arms  had  no 
more  feeling  in  them  than  dead  arms.  We  took  no  rations 
with  us  ;  were  ordered  to  take  none,  and  had  no  intimation  as 
to  how  long  we  would  be  gone.  So  we  were  all  day,  from 
early  morning  until  late  in  the  evening,  with  nothing  to  eat. 

There  were  other  things,  also,  which  tended  to  give  us 
unpleasant  recollections  of  the  day.  One  of  the  regiments  of 
the  brigade  was  from  the  city  of  New  York.  It  had  been  a 
militia  regiment,  and  the  men  still  wore  their  fancy  militia 
uniforms  of  fine  broadcloth,  neatly  made  and  tastefully 
trimmed.  Another  regiment  was  from  Philadelphia,  with  a 
former  mayor  of  the  city  for  colonel.  It  also  had  been  nicely 
uniformed  at  home.  Every  man  looked  as  though  fresh  from 
a  bandbox.  The  third  regiment  was  provided  with  the  regu- 
lation dress  uniform  of  the  United  States  army,  of  that  date. 
All  of  the  other  regiments  had  been  in  the  service  longer  than 
we  had,  and  had  participated  in  reviews  before  this.  They 
all  had  fine  brass  bands,  with  drum  majors  who  could  out-do, 
if  possible,  the  major-general  himself  in  "furs  and  feathers." 
In  contrast  with  these  things,  not  a  man  in  our  regiment,  as 
far  as  known,  had  ever  before  seen  a  grand  review.      We  had 


80  HISTORY    OF    THE 

no  music,  except  a  small,  poorly  equipped  drum  corps,  of 
limited  experience.  Our  uniforms,  originally  coarse,  ill- 
fitting  and  hideous  in  design,  \vere  now  none  the  better  for 
their  three  months'  constant  wear.  Our  drilling  and  field 
maneuvers,  while  faithfully  persevered  in,  had  not,  up  to  this 
time,  been  "  before  folks."  However  we  may  have  appeared 
to  others,  in  our  own  minds  we  felt  awkward  and  ill  at  ease. 
To  be  frank,  we  doubtless  did  lack  style.  Our  experiences 
previous  to  entering  the  army  had  not  fitted  us  for  parades. 
The  farms  and  shops  and  even  the  stores  and  offices  of 
Indiana,  before  the  Civil  war,  were  not  the  places  to  find  men 
who  w^ould  show  to  the  best  advantage  on  such  occasions. 
Though  we  subsequently  improved  very  much  over  this,  our 
first  experience,  we  never  did  pride  ourselves  on  our  achieve- 
ments at  reviews.  We  returned  from  this  one  thoroughly  out 
of  humor  with  ourselves  and  everybody  else. 

Among  other  things  to  disturb  the  equanimity  of  the 
colonel  in  this  camp,  the  boys  found  a  barrel  of  hard  cider 
in  Mr.  Clay's  spring-house,  and  some  of  them  got  "full" 
on  it.  The  colonel's  method  of  getting  rid  of  this  nuisance 
was  characteristic.  He  knocked  out  the  bung  and  let  the 
cider  run  on  the  ground.  As  we  were  necessarily  much 
about  Mr.  Clay's  house,  making  common  property  of  almost 
everything  he  had,  either  that  or  something  else  unsettled  his 
reason  and  we  had  a  mad  man  on  our  hands.  The  duty  of 
some  of  the  guards  day  and  night  was  to  watch  over  him. 

A  day  or  so  after  the  review  we  began  work  on  our  win- 
ter quarters.  The  place  selected  for  a  permanent  camp  was  a 
mile  north  of  Mr.  Clay's,  on  land  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Huffman. 
It  was  the  prettiest  place  for  the  purpose  in  all  that  region, 
in  fact  about  the  only  real  good  place.  It  had  at  first  been 
pre-empted  by  the  Third  Wisconsin,  but  they  were  detailed 
for  provost  duty  in  Frederick,  and  our  colonel  then  took  pos- 
session of  the  site.  It  was  a  space  about  the  right  size  for  a 
regimental  camp,  sloping  gently  to  the  south.  On  the  north, 
east  and  west  it  was  sheltered  by  higher  ground.  A  spring 
branch  circled  around  it,  from  the  southeast  to  the  northwest, 
aflbrding  nice  water  for  washing,  while  different  convenient 
springs  afforded  good  water  for  drinking  and  cooking.  At 
the  west  end  of  the  camp,  the  branch  was  met  by  a  deep,  dry 
ravine  which  came  around  from  the  northeast.  Where  these 
two  met  a  slate  quarry  had  been  opened  and   worked  until  a 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  81 

deep  hole  had  been  excavated,  leaving  a  steep  precipice  at 
that  point,  just  outside  of  our  guard  line. 

On  this  ground  we  built  us  winter  quarters,  which  proved 
to  be  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all  of  Banks'  division, 
and  an  unfailing  subject  of  interest  to  all  visitors,  notably 
those  from  the  larger  Eastern  cities.  To  us,  however,  there 
was  nothing  new  about  them,  except  in  their  minor  details 
and  uses.  In  a  general  way,  they  were  modeled  after  the  log 
cabins  of  the  pioneers  of  Indiana,  in  which  most  of  us  had 
been  born.  The  walls  were  built  of  round  logs,  notched  to- 
gether at  the  ends.  The  roofs  were  of  clap-boards,  which  we 
split  ourselves,  and  which  were  laid  in  courses  upon  log 
stringers  and  held  in  place  by  a  heavy  pole  on  top  of  each 
course.  The  quarters  for  the  men  consisted  of  seven  apart- 
ments to  a  company,  all  in  one  row,  under  one  roof.  The 
partitions  between  the  apartments  were  of  logs,  the  same  as 
the  outside  walls.  Each  apartment  was  provided  with  a  fire- 
place, built  as  our  fathers  built  theirs.  There  was  a  frame 
work  of  wood,  lined  inside  with  stone,  laid  in  mortar  and 
surmounted  with  a  chimney  composed  of  sticks,  plastered 
inside.  In  furnishing  an  abundance  of  flat  stones  for  these 
fire-places  the  slate  quarry  was  a  great  convenience.  The  roofs 
of  these  company  quarters  all  shedded  one  way,  that  was 
away  from  the  company  street.  They  had  no  floors  in  them, 
though  we  succeeded  in  "  finding"  enough  sawed  lumber  to 
make  doors  and  bunks.  All  the  simple,  home-made  conven- 
iences of  the  primitive  log-cabin  we  had — wooden  door  hinges, 
wooden  latches  (with  strings  hanging  out  or  drawn  in,  accord- 
ing to  circumstances) ,  hooks  nailed  up  to  lay  the  guns  in, 
pegs  projecting  from  the  walls,  to  hang  things  on,  benches  to 
sit  on,  etc.,   etc. 

The  officers'  quarters  were  one-room  log  houses,  built 
in  their  proper  places,  resembling  the  men's,  except  some 
of  them  had  gable  roofs,  and  most  of  them  had  floors.  Under 
date  of  December  29, 1861,  Colonel  Colgrove  wrote  to  Hon.  W. 
A.  Peelle,  of  Indianapolis  :  "We  have  a  perfect  city  built  for 
winter  quarters,  one  hundred  and  twenty  log  houses,  10x18 
feet,  chinked  and  daubed,  glass  windows,  fire-places  and  clap- 
board roofs,  with  the  latch-string  hanging  out.  All  the  regi- 
ments in  the  division,  except  ours,  are  living  in  tents.  They 
can't  work  with  the  Iloosier  boys.      Our   city  is  laid  off  with 

regular  streets,  all  named — Morton  street,  Peelle  street,  Lane 
6 


82 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


street,  Indiana  avenue,  etc.,  etc."  The  official  desigaation  of 
this  cantonment  was  Camp  Halleck,  though  its  popular  name 
with  us  was  "  Hoosier  City."  We  occupied  these  quarters 
over  two  months,  moving  in  them  December  18,  and  leaving 
them  February  25. 

These  were  the  halcyon  days  of  our  soldiering.  The  mem- 
ber of  the  regiment  who  saw  much  service  with  it,  and  yet, 
who  was  not  present  that  winter,  is  like  a  man  who  has  had  no 
boyhood.  We  saw  some  hardships,  it  is  true.  There  were 
duties  in  bad,  bad  weather,  a  large  amount  of  sickness  of  differ- 
ent kinds  and  other  inconveniences  and  deprivations  incident 


Newspapers   in  Camp. 


to  our  situation.  But  the  good  cheer  far  overbalanced  the 
things  of  a  different  nature.  When  well  and  off  duty  we  were 
always  comfortable,  usually  happy.  Rations  were  abundant 
and  of  good  quality,  The  quartermaster  exchanged  flour  in 
the  city  for  bread,  pound  for  pound,  which  was  fresh  and  good. 
Wood  was  abundant  and  easily  obtained.  Our  camp  stood  thick 
with  timber  when  we  located  it ;  when  we  left,  the  timber  line 
had  receded  but  a  short  distance.  We  had  all  the  candles  we 
wanted  to  burn  and  the  rule  of  "Lights  out  at  taps  "  was  not 
enforced.  So,  in  stormy  weather  and  during  the  long  winter 
evenings,  we  sat  around  blazing  fires  and  read,  wrote  letters, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA,  83 

played  cards,  spun    yarns  or    whatever    else    suggested  itself. 

The  aggregate  amount  of  any  one  of  these  things  done  in 
the  army,  if  adequately  stated,  would  seem  astonishing  to 
some  people.  Papers  were  bought  in  armsful,  letters  were 
written  in  tons,  while  cards  were  played  and  "  lies "  were 
swapped  incessantly. 

During  this  winter  the  newsboy  (a  man)  came  to  camp 
every  day,  with  Washington,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia  and 
New  York  papers.  He  rode  horseback  and  announced  his 
approach  by  tooting  a  tin  horn.  The  horse  was  loaded  to  his 
full  capacity,  and  when  there  was  money  among  the  men.  one 
had  to  run  quickly  and  meet  the  newsboy  outside  of  camp,  to 
be  sure  of  getting  a  paper.  Often  soldiers  who  could  not 
read  bought  papers,  frequently  one  of  every  kind  the  man 
had,  and  begged  others  to  read  to  them.  Every  day  the  mails, 
both  going  and  coming,  were  gorged.  One  mail  came  to  the 
regiment  here  containing  five  bushels  of  letters.  It  is  on 
record  that  one  company  alone  received  two  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  letters  at  this  time.  The  interest  in  writing  and 
receiving  letters  never  waned  during  the  war.  To  empty 
every  hut  or  tent,  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  day  or  night, 
it  was  onlv  necessary  to  shout  "  mail"  at  the  head  of  the  com- 
pany street. 

Our  chaplain,  when  with  the  regiment,  had  charge 
of  the  mails.  Sometimes  a  soldier  was  detailed  to  assist 
him.  Mail  going  out  was  taken  to  the  chaplain's  tent. 
When  mail  was  brought  in,  it  was  distributed  to  the  companj- 
hy  the  chaplain  and  his  assistants,  and  the  orderly  sergeant 
publicly  called  out  the  name  on  each  letter. 

The  chaplain  was  often  annoyed  a  great  deal  by  questions, 
as  all  postmasters  are,  about  when  the  mail  would  go  out  or  come 
in.  There  is  a  story  of  a  chaplain,  who,  to  escape  this  annoy- 
ance, posted  a  notice  outside  of  his  tent  reading  :  "  The  chap- 
lain does  not  know  when  the  next  mail  will  go  out  or  come 
in."  Some  impious  soldier  slyly  added  in  the  same  hand, 
"  and  don't  care  a  damn." 

Card  playing  was  done  extensively  for  stakes.  This  was 
always  more  or  less  under  ban.  Sometimes  it  would  be  done 
quite  openly  and  nothing  was  said  about  it.  Then  a  descent 
would  be  made  on  a  knot  of  gamblers.  The  money,  if  it 
could  be  seized,  was  confiscated  and  the  men  punished  in  some 
Avay,  but  gambling  went  on,  all  the  same.     There  was  also  an 


84  HISTORY    OF    THE 

endless  amount  of  card  playing  for  pastime  only,  or  for  some 
trivial  stake,  as,  who  should  get  a  bucket  of  water,  bring  a 
load  of  wood,  cook  a  meal,  or  something  of  the  kind.  Games 
were  carried  on,  too,  all  day  and  long  into  the  night,  some- 
times running  through  several  days,  out  of  pure  rivalry,  one 
party  being  determined  that  they  would  not  be  beaten  by 
another  at  euchre,  seven-up  or  pitch-seven. 

In  common  conversation,  all  subjects  were  discussed, 
from  the  latest  complications  in  the  military  or  political  situ- 
ation, to  the  question  of  where  Cain  got  his  wife.  Matters  at 
home,  and  experiences  before  leaving  home,  came  in  for  a 
large  share.  Neither  was  a  military  camp,  composed  entirely 
of  men,  wholly  free  from  gossip.  The  worst  tattler  at  a  sew- 
ing circle  could  not  put  more  pure  fiction  in  circulation  than 
was  constantly  going  the  rounds  of  camp.  If  the  cannons 
boomed  somewhere,  as  they  did  often,  it  would  not  be  an 
hour  until  the  booming  was  accounted  for  somehow.  The 
rebels  had  crossed  the  Potomac  somewhere,  so  many  thousand 
strong ;  some  part  of  our  army  had  begun  the  invasion  of  Vir- 
ginia and  all  the  balance  were  to  follow  shortly  ;  a  reverse  had 
been  met  with  here  or  a  great  victory  gained  there.  If  an 
orderly  rode  into  camp  he  would  not  be  gone  ten  minutes 
until  a  dozen  stories  were  in  circulation  explaining  his  errand. 
We  were  ordered  to  move  somewhere ;  our  regiment  was 
detached  to  go  to  the  army  at  Charleston,  New  Orleans  or 
some  other  point ;  Governor  Morton  had  requested  us  to  be 
sent  back  to  Indianapolis,  and  so  on  without  end.  Not  a  word 
of  any  of  it  was  true.  It  was  wholly  the  invention  of  a  gossip 
or  story  teller — some  might  call  him  a  liar. 

But  many  good  people  have  a  very  erroneous  impression 
concerning  one  feature  of  the  conversation  that  was  heard 
around  a  camp  fire  during  this  war.  The  writer  has  had  occa- 
sion again,  and  again,  to  contradict  a  defamatory  and,  as  it 
would  seem  deep-rooted,  understanding  that  many  persons 
have  relative  to  Union  soldiers,  upon  which  their  interchange 
of  ideas  around  their  camp-fires  shed  a  bright  light.  The 
eroneous  impression  referred  to  is,  that  soldiers,  as  a  rule,, 
had  no  adequate  or  well-defined  conception  as  to  why  they 
were  bearing  arms,  or  what  their  being  in  the  army  might  in- 
volve. Any  one  who  could  have  heard  the  almost  constant 
discussions  going  on  around  the  camp-fires  would  know  better 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


85 


than    this.     He    would    be    ashamed    to    betray    such    glaring 
.ignorance  of  the  real  facts. 

True,  most  Union  soldiers  were  from  the  middle  class  and 
had  limited  educations.  Many  of  them  had  scarcely  any  ed- 
ucation, such  as  comes  from  books  ;  but  that  is  not  saying  that 
they  were  not  intelligent,  and  on  some  points,  perhaps  on 
many,  were  not  thoroughly  well  informed.  This  will  not  be 
so  hard  to  believe  if  it  is  remembered  that  throughout  Indiana, 
and  all  over  the  West,  previous  to  the  war,  were  to  be  found 
many  men,  of  large  means  and  of  extensive  and  complicated 
business  interests, who  could  not  read  or  write.  Yet  the  person 
who  tried  to  defraud  these  men  in  a  business  transaction,  even 
one  that  involved   intricate    problems   of  interest,  discount   or 


two  brothers. 
Lieut.  Isaac  Van  Buskirk,  Orderly  Sergt.  JonnVan  Buskirk, 
Co.  F.    Died  of  wounds  at  "Sandy"  ok  Co.  F. 

Chancellorsvili.e. 

taken  at  hoosier  city. 

storage,  invariably  had  his  labor  for  his  pains.  So  Union 
soldiers,  if  they  were  deficient  in  some  respects,  if  they  lacked 
information  or  insight  concerning  some  subjects,  when  it  came 
to  questions  involved  in  the  war  or  to  the  perils  and  sacrifices 
to  be  expected  in  the  strife,  what  they  knew  and  the  extent  to 
which  tliey  anticipated  things,  were  surprising. 


Ob  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Among  the  occupants  of  one  of  the  cabins  at  Camp  Hal- 
leck  was  a  young  man  who  had  a  brother  in  the  rebel  army. 
Others  in  the  same  cabin  had  been  born  in  slave  States,  and 
had  many  friends  and  relatives  living  in  the  South, with  whom 
they  had  been  in  close  touch  up  to  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war.  Of  those  born  in  Indiana,  most  of  their  parents  had 
been  Southerners,  only  two  or  three  of  them  having  come 
from  Ohio  or  States  further  east.  One  or  more  of  the  dozen 
men  in  that  cabin  fell  upon  every  battle-field  where  the 
Twenty-seventh  met  the  enemy.  The  dust  of  the  one  having 
a  brother  in  the  rebel  army  awaits  the  trumpet  of  the  arch- 
angel underneath  one  of  the  little  mounds  in  the  National 
Cemetery  at  Gettysburg,  with  a  name  not  his  own  on  the 
modest  headstone  that  marks  his  last  resting  place.  Ani.ther 
gave  not  only  his  life  but  his  very  name  for  his  country,  at 
Chancellorsville.  A  third,  did  the  same  in  Andersonville 
prison.  Others  went  to  early  graves,  or  have  struggled  on 
through  life  with  one  foot  or  one  hand  or  with  impaired 
health.  But  no  experience  of  hardship,  wounds  or  death  that 
came  to  any  one  of  them  w^as  of  the  nature  of  a  surprise  to 
him.  He  and  his  messmates  had  talked  it  all  over,  time  and 
time  again,  around  the  camp-fire.  They  did  this  at  Camp 
Halleck  and  at  every  other  camp  w^iere  they  sojourned.  They 
foresaw  clearly  what  might  be  in  store  for  them,  and  with 
equal  clearness  did  they  understand  the  issues  involved  in  the 
war.  Those  of  them  still  living  have  learned  something  in 
the  passing  years,  since  the  great  struggle  ended,  but  t'ney 
have  not  learned  much  as  to  what  the  struggle  was  about  or 
as  to  what  the  eff"ect  would  be  if  it  terminated  one  way  or  the 
other.  The  fact  was  revealed  around  the  camp-fire  that  iheir 
grasp  and  comprehension  of  these  matters  were  then  equ.il  to 
that  of  men  in  far  higher  and  more  responsible  stations.  If 
opinions  and  convictions  bearing  upon  the  causes  of  the  war 
and  upon  its  prosecution  were  stated  in  better  language,  if 
discussions  about  them  were  more  cultured,  in  Northern  club 
rooms,  in  the  meetings  of  Congressional  committees  nr  in 
cabinet  councils;  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  were  any  better 
understood  or  more  fully  appreciated,  than  by  the  members  of 
this  parliament  of  free  thought  around  the  camp-fires,  by  the 
men  in  the  ranks. 

There  were  two  or  three  fiddles  in  the  Twenty-seventh 
which  were  kept  going  this  winter  at  Camp   Halleck,  almost 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  87 

night  and  day.  At  night,  particularly,  they  could  always  be 
heard,  in  one  place  or  another.  With  the  fiddles  were  the 
accompanying  dancers.  Some  of  them  might  have  command- 
ed wages  as  jig  dancers  at  the  varieties.  They  could  always 
entertain  a  crowd.  When  wearied  looking  at  jig  dancing 
and  waltzing,  the  whole  party  often  joined  in  a  reel  or 
cotillion — a  genuine  "stag"  dance.  To  designate  the 
"  ladies,"  or  those  acting  as  such,  a  handkerchief  or  scarf  was 
tied  around  their  arms. 

In  one  instance  two  men  owned  a  fiddle  in  partnership. 
One  of  them  was  peculiar,  and  may  have  grown  tired  of  hear- 
ing the  instrument.  When  the  company  came  in  from  drill 
one  day,  he  having  been  left  behind,  he  had  cut  the  partner- 
ship fiddle  in  two.  He  said  it  was  not  satisfactory  to  him  to 
own  a  fiddle  in  connection  with  another  party  ;  he  wanted 
what  he  owned  all  to  himself,  so  he  had  divided  his  half  from 
the  other  half. 

There  was  not  a  large  amount  of  singing  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh.  There  was  some  singing,  but  the  education  of  most 
in  that  direction  had  been  neglected.  Religious  singing  is 
not  referred  to.  When  religious  services  were  held,  there 
was  always  singing,  and  there  was  some  hymn  singing  in 
addition,  mostly  by  individuals.  But  promiscuous  singing 
was  not  extensively  indulged  in.  There  were  a  few  knots  of 
singers  and  one  or  two  clever  performers,  as  guitar  players 
and  solo  singers.  They  were  rather  too  modest,  however,  to 
contribute  much  to  public  entertainment.  Company  K  was 
more  given  to  singing  than  any  other.  Their  soft-flowing, 
rythmic  "Dutch"  songs  could  be  heard  in  their  quarters 
every  night. 

Of  out-door  sports  and  recreations,  and  breathing  spells 
out  of  camp,  we  had  enough.  Most  of  these  were  lawful  and 
wholesome,  but  sometimes  we  tasted  forbidden  fruit.  The 
weather  was  too  uncertain  and  the  ground  too  soft  for  much 
drilling,  especially  until  later  in  the  winter.  Toward  the 
last  of  our  stay  we  did  considerable  of  it.  But  any  pleasant 
day  there  was  ball  playing,  running,  jumping,  wrestling  and 
scuffling.  Occasionally  there  was  a  downright  fist  fight,  the 
result  of  some  quarrel.  It  was  not  considered  the  thing  at 
any  time  in  the  Twenty-seventh  to  part  two  men,  at  all 
equally  matched,  until  one  or  the  other  said  "  enough.""  In 
fact,  it  was  not  safe  to  quarrel  unless  one  wanted  to  fight.    A 


88  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ring  was  of  ten  formed,  with  the  two  quarreling  fellows  inside, 
and  they  were  almost  compelled  to  knock  it  out  or  quit  quar- 
reling. There  was  one  famous  public  scuffle  or  wrestle, 
"catch-as-catch-can"  here,  between  a  member  of  Company  A 
and  one  of  Company  F.  Both  were  powerful  men  and  ex- 
perts in  that  line.  Considerable  money  changed  hands  on 
the  result. 

A  trip  to  the  city  in  pleasant  weather  afforded  an  agree- 
able day's  outing.  Fredrick  was  an  old,  antiquated  looking 
place,  but  live  and  thrift}'  in  a  business  way,  with  stores  full 
of  goods,  at  reasonable  prices.  The  rates  in  the  restaurants 
were  lower  than  at  Indianapolis.  Oysters  were  a  "bit"  a 
dish  served  cooked,  or  the  same  per  quart  raw.  The  people 
were  mostly  loyal ;  all  of  them  were  kind  and  hospitable. 
The  country  around  Frederick  was  superb,  very  productive 
and  finely  improved.  It  was  a  land  of  plenty.  Our  route  to 
the  city  was  north  to  the  Baltimore  pike,  a  short  mile, 
thence  over  that  thoroughfare.  It  crossed  the  Monocacy  on 
a  solid  stone  bridge  of  two  arches,  built  after  the  old  Roman 
pattern. 

Most  of  the  boys  got  more  or  less  acquainted  with  the 
people  in  the  vicinity  of  camp.  Parties  among  them  were 
frequent.  They  were  quite  willing  (for  a  consideration)  to 
open  their  houses  for  parties,  and  the  country  maidens  were 
not  averse  to  the  company  of  the  young  soldiers  from  Indiana. 

One  of  these  parties  was  more  noted  than  the  rest  because 
of  its  results.  Up  to  that  time  few  restraints  had  been  thrown 
upon  attendance  on  such  occasions.  This  time  the  interest 
was  so  great  and  talk  so  extensive  that  the  colonel  felt  called 
irpon  to  forbid  anyone  going.  Nevertheless,  a  large  number 
went — several  commissioned  offlcers,  more  non-commissioned 
officers,  and  privates  uncounted.  A  supply  of  "commissary" 
was  on  hand  also.  Along  with  considerable  noisy  and  riotous 
conduct,  there  was  a  knock-down  between  two  shoulder- 
strappers.  One  of  these  sustained  a  near  relation  to  the 
colonel,  where  his  eye,  snugly  draped  in  mourning,  betrayed 
him.  In  inquiring  into  the  cause  of  the  damaged  eye,  the 
whole  matter  was  unearthed.  A  diary  in  possession  of  the 
writer  says,  under  that  date:  "  Only  fifty-four  in  the  guard 
house."  The  singing,  shouting  and  roystering  proceeding 
from  that  over-crowded  "pen"  was  terrific.  It  continued 
both  day  and  night.     Next   to  the   men   themselves,  nobody 


TWENTY- SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


89 


Avas  inconvenienced  as  much  as  the  colonel,  the  guard-house 
Ijeing  near  his  cabin. 

One  night  the  colonel  suddenly  appeared  among  the  men 
in  the  guard-house,  just  when  interest  chiefly  centered  in  a 
game  of  cards,  which  was  going  on  for  stakes.  All  at  once  a 
vicious  kick  sent  lap-board,  cards,  money  and  all,  up  to  the 
roof.  Then  the  air  turned  blue  with  a  certain  species  of 
adjectives  that  the  colonel  could  use  when  he  tried.  With 
these  profusely  thrown  in,  he  explained  that  he  had  put  them 
in  where  they  were  for  violation  of  orders,  and  here  they  were 
violatins:  orders  more  than  before. 


Henry  Van  Voorst,  Co.  F.     Serg't  John  Camabell.  Co.  F. 

Nobody  suffered  much  in  the  end,  for  these  infractions  of 
discipline,  but  the  poor  non-commissioned  officers.  At  this 
period  of  our  service  they  were  reduced  to  ranks  for  very 
trivial  offenses,  real  or  imaginary.  Possibly  the  colonel  might 
have  carried  the  matter  concerning  the  party  as  far  as  a  court- 
martial  for  the  wliole  lot.  but  the  commander  of  one  of  the 
companies  went  to  him  and  told  him,  confidentially,  that  he 
had  most  of  his  best  men  in  the  guard-house.  So,  after  a  few 
days'  confinement,  they  were  all  released. 


90  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Practical  jokes  necessaril}'  had  to  be  put  under  ban  to 
some  extent  in  the  army.  There  was  too  much  danger  of 
their  being  played  on  the  weak  and  friendless.  Still,  many 
that  were  good-humored  and  harmless  were  tolerated.  Some 
that  were  not  so  were  inflicted,  in  defiance  of  authority.  A 
common  one  at  Hoosier  City  was  to  drop  cartridges  down  the 
chimneys  into  the  fire  and  listen  to  their  explosion.  Usually 
there  were  accomplices,  and,  where  it  was  only  for  fun.  the 
one  throwing  the  cartridge  was  advised  by  his  confederate 
(who,  on  some  pretext,  had  gone  into  the  hut)  when  to 
throw  the  cartridge,  so  it  would  do  no  serious  harm.  In  one 
case  the  orderly-sergeant  of  a  company  and  his  chum  were 
suspected  of  retaining  more  than  their  rightful  share  of  the 
rations,  particularly  the  choicest  cuts  of  beef.  One  day  the 
boys  smelled  tantalizing  fumes  of  boiling  beef  proceeding 
from  their  hut.  when  beef  was  badly  needed  by  otheis.  As 
soon  as  they  could  be  collected  therefore,  a  bundle  of  car- 
tridges was  dropped  down  this  particular  chimney.  The 
explosion  which  followed  filled  the  room  with  beef,  coals, 
ashes,  smoke  and  steam,  and  sent  the  two  men  out  at  the  door, 
without  regard  to  order.  If  all  the  others  appreciated  the 
joke,  the  two  men  did  not. 

It  was  here  that  Gosport  money  began  to  trouble  our 
regimental  authorities  considerably,  and  the  peddlers  more. 
Gosport,  in  Owen  county,  had  had  a  bank  before  the  war, 
which  had  ultimately  failed.  A  part  of  the  assets  were  a 
large  number  of  nicely  engraved  but  unsigned  bills,  of  differ- 
ent denominations.  Members  of  the  regiment  from  Gosport 
by  some  means  received  these  bills  in  quantities  and  sold 
them  to  others  for  trifling  sums.  At  that  time,  when  no  two 
communities  a  hundred  miles  apart  had  the  same  kind  of 
money,  it  was  easy  to  sign  fictitious  names  as  president  and 
cashier  and  pass  the  bills  onto  the  peddlers.  The  only 
excuse  for,  or  palliation  of.  the  fault,  was  that  many 
of  the  peddlers  were  rebel  sympathizers,  and  all  of  them 
were  utterly  unscrupulous  as  to  the  character  of  their 
goods  and  shamefully  extortionate  in  their  prices.  One 
day  a  man  came  to  camp  with  a  large  wagon  loaded 
down  with  high-priced  pies,  cakes,  etc.  The  colonel  had 
stationed  a  guard  some  distance  out,  to  warn  such  of  their 
danger.  But  this  fellow  was  a  smart  one,  and,  tliinking 
the    guard,    perchance,   might    stop    him,    he     turned    off  and 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  91 

made  a  wide  circuit  around  him.  By  that  means  he  reached 
the  camp  at  a  rather  isolated  point  and  drove  inside.  He 
may  have  found  other  regiments  out  of  money,  but  here  he 
found  plenty.  No  complaints  were  made  about  his  prices. 
Trade  was  brisk.  Bills  were  large,  but  he  had  provided  him- 
self with  plenty  of  change.  He  soon  sold  all  he  had  and 
could  have  sold  more.  He  drove  away  in  high  spirits,  with 
pockets  wadded  with  money.  But  he  soon  returned  in  a  woe- 
begone plight.  He  had  found  the  real  value  of  Gosport 
money.  The  colonel  never  had  a  better  chance  to  get  even 
with  a  man.  In  forceful  language  he  rehearsed  the  ca>e  to 
him  ;  how  he  had  placed  a  guard  to  warn  him  ;  how  the  man 
had  dodged  the  guard  ;  how  he  had  disregarded  the  rules  and 

driven  into  camp.     Now  he  might  go  to . 

It  seems  strange,  but  only  a  few  furloughs  were  granted 
to  members  of  the  regiment  during  this  long  period  of  inactiv- 
ity. The  colonel  and  several  other  officers  had  short  leaves  of 
absence.  With  the  men,  one  at  a  time  from  a  company, was  the 
limit.  Where  no  other  favoritism  was  shown,  married  men  were 
given  the  preference.  In  addition  to  the  length  of  the  furlough 
(fifteen  days),  considerable  time  was  consumed  in  sending  the 
application  to  headquarters  and  getting  a  return.  So,  about 
two  from  each  company  were  all  who  were  permitted  to  visit 
home.  Of  course  no  one  knew  certainly  that  we  would  be  in- 
active as  long  as  we  were.  Several  times,  indeed,  we  did  re- 
ceive orders  to  get  ready  to  march.  Once  or  twice  we  cooked 
rations  and  were  ready  to  start.  A  demonstration  by  a  few 
rebels,  somewhere  along  the  Potomac,  was  enough  to  put  our 
whole  army  in  a  flurry,  and  stop  all  furloughs  for  several  days. 
Excepting  what  drilling  we  did,  we  had  few  other  duties 
but  camp  guard.  This  was  maintained  rigorously  night,  and 
day,  through  all  kinds  of  weather.  Each  soldier's  turn  came 
about  once  in  three  to  five  days.  Many  regiments  omitted 
camp  guards  in  very  foul  weather,  but  in  ours  this  was  not 
done. 

The  authorities  of  the  regiment  were  suddenly  confronted 
one  day  at  Camp  Halleck  with  the  question  as  to  what  the 
army  was  to  do  with  runaway  slaves.  Qiiartermaster  Jami- 
son had  employed,  as  a  servant,  a  likely  mulatto  boy,  named 
Henry.  Without  any  previous  warning,  a  Doctor  Bussard 
appeared  in  camp,  on  the  clay  in  question,  and  inquired  for 
Henry,  claiming  him  as  his  "  property.''     All  liad  been  care- 


92  HISTORY    OP^    THE 

ful  to  say  before  this  that  they  were  not  in  the  army  to  free 
the  slaves.  This  meant,  of  course,  that  they  were  not  in 
the  army  to  override  the  law  legalizing  slavery,  but  only  to 
enforce  the  higher  law,  imbedded  in  the  Constitution  itself, 
binding  the  States  together  in  the  Union.  But  if  slaves 
escaped,  were  we  to  help  or  hinder  in  their  recapture?  The 
theory  on  this  point  had  been  that  we  were  neither  to  help 
nor  hinder.  But  theory  and  practice  are  often  wide  apait. 
When  brought  face  to  face  with  the  matter  of  standing  by 
and  seeing  a  slave  recaptured,  particularly  a  bright,  prepos- 
sessing young  man,  more  than  half  white,  our  officers  to  a 
man,  and  as  many  of  the  rank  and  file  as  were  apprised  of  the 
facts,  said  no  !  It  required  a  far  different  education  from  what 
our  free  Hoosier  state  afforded,  to  fit  men  for  such  a  position. 
Instead,  therefore,  of  correct  information  about  the  boy,  or 
any  help  in  tracing  him,  the  doctor  received  considerable 
gratuitous  advice  as  to  what  he  had  better  do  and  where  he 
had  better  go,  for  his  own  safety.  In  the  meantime,  Henry 
had  received  and  acted  upon  a  little  timely  advice,  and  was 
nowhere  to  be  found.  It  cannot  be  told  what  the  officers  or 
the  men  would  have  done  if  the  doctor  had  happened 
upon  Henry,  and  proceeded  to  take  him  back  to  slavery.  The 
presumption  seems  strong,  however,  that  he  would  have 
speedily  gone  out  of  camp  with  something  less  than  a  thousand 
boots,  ranging  from  eights  to  elevens,  playing  upon  his  pos- 
terior anatomy. 

Many  boxes  came  to  the  regiment  this  winter  from  friends 
at  home.  vSome  came  to  individuals,  others  were  partly  in- 
tended for  individuals  and  also  for  the  members  of  certain 
companies  in  general.  They  consisted  both  of  clothing  and 
eatables.  The  reception  of  "  a  box"  constituted  an  era  in  the 
history  of  a  company.  While  most  of  the  things  were  needed 
badly  enough  to  be  appreciated  on  that  account,  they  were 
looked  upon  as  being  even  more  valuable  as  tokens  of  a 
thoughtful  interest  in  our  welfare  on  the  part  of  loyal  friends 
at  home. 

In  January,  the  paymaster  came  again,  giving  us  another 
two  months'  pay.  Those  who  had  not  settled  with  the  sutler, 
to  that  worthy's  satisfaction,  at  the  previous  pay-day,  found 
his  claim  deducted  from  their  allowance  this  time.  The  read- 
ers of  the  recent  story  of  "  Si  Klegg  "  will  remember  his  feel- 
ings  after   receiving   the   small  pittance  coming  to  him  when 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  95 

the  sutler's  checks  had  been  paid.  Many  among  us  know  how 
to  sympathize  with  Si.  We  have  been  there  ourselves.  Still, 
it  is  on  record  that,  at  this  pay-day  and  the  one  previous,  $31,- 
331  were  sent  home  by  the  regiment,  out  of  less  than  five 
months  pay.  This  did  not  include  the  field  and  staff  officers, 
or  the  band,  and  others  were  likely  missed  also.  Thirty-five 
thousand  dollars  would  be  a  low  estimate  for  the  entire  regi- 
ment, at  both  pay-days. 

The  victories  of  our  Western  armies  at  Mill  Springs  and 
Forts  Henry  and  Donelson  were  announced  to  the  regiment 
at  this  camp,  by  official  bulletins.  We  were  called  into  line 
and  the  dispatches  were  read  by  the  adjutant.  They  caused  the 
wildest  joy  among  us.  Cheering,  shouting  and  singing  con- 
tinued, after  each  announcement,  until  long  into  the  night. 

About  this  time  a  detail  of  one  from  a  company  was 
made  for  the  Western  gun-boat  service.  Those  who  were 
sent  awav  then  never  returned  to  the  regiment. 

We  observed  Washington's  birthday  by  a  pole  raising 
and  other  public  exercises.  The  flag  which  citizens  of  Bloom- 
ington  had  given  to  Company  F  was  run  up  the  pole. 
Lieutenant  Cassady  read  Washington's  Farewell  Address, 
and  the  colonel  made  a  speech.  The  colonel's  speech,  as  the 
writer  remembers  it,  was,  in  substance,  about  this:  "George 
Washington  was  all  right,  the  country  was  all  right  and  the 
Twenty-seventh  was  all  right.  The  only  thing  to  be 
complained  of  was  that  we  had,  so  far,  had  no  chance  for  a 
scrap  with  the  "Johnnies."  The  same  speech  was  repeated,  in 
the  main,  on  all  similar  occasions,  up  to  the  summer  of  'G2. 
After  that,  for  obvious  reasons,  it  was  heard  no  more. 

This  must  have  been  a  very  mild  winter,  even  for  that 
climate.  After  coming  to  the  vicinity  of  Frederick,  ice 
was  at  no  time  over  two  inches  thick.  There  was  much 
stormy  weather,  snow  as  well  as  rain,  but  the  next  day  after  a 
furious  storm  was  often  as  bright  and  mild  as  a  INIay  day. 
Mud  in  our  streets  was  frequently  almost  impassible. 

The  dark  background  to  our  life  at  Camp  Ilalleck  was 
the  large  amount  of  sickness,  so  much  of  it  resulting  fatally. 
The  prevailing  trouble  was  pneumonia.  This  was  brought  on 
by  exposure,  some  of  it  doubtless  unnecessary.  At  one  time  it 
prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent.  There  were  well  equipped 
hospitals  in  Frederick,  and  those  who  were  not  attacked  so 
violently  that  they  could  not  be  moved,  were  taken  there  for 


94  HISTORY    OF    THE 

treatment.  Our  regimental  hospital  was  a  log  house,  about 
20x24  feet,  built  like  the  others,  but  provided  with  a  stove. 
The  writer  was  a  patient  in  it,  sick  with  pneumonia,  for  about 
ten  days.  The  first  six  nights  he  was  there,  seven  men  died. 
At  that  time  all  the  floor  space,  except  a  narrow  aisle  through 
the  center,  was  occupied  by  cots  containing  sick.  Those  sent 
to  Frederick  for  treatment  did  not  seem  to  fare  any  better  than 
those  treated  in  camp.  Almost  every  day  word  was  brought 
that  some  agreeable  companion  and  promising  soldier,  had  been 
mustered  out.  It  was  their  sad  fate  to  fall  before  meeting  the 
real  foe,  but  they  died  for  their  country.  A  large  proportion 
of  their  remains  were  sent  home,  or  friends  came  after  them. 
The  others  now  rest  in  the  charming  National  Cemetery  at 
Antietam. 

February  24,  we  received  orders  to  cook  three  days  rations 
and  be  ready  to  march.  While  we  were  willing  to  do  our 
duty  and  wanted  the  army  to  be  about  its  work,  we  were  loth 
to  leave  our  comfortable  camp.  We  did  not  feel  certain  of  do- 
ing so,  but  next  morning,  the  25th,  before  daylight,  we  marched 
away,  leaving  all  our  quarters  intact. 

In  August,  1889,  more  than  twenty-seven  years  afterward, 
the  writer  visited  the  spot  again.  He  was,  up  to  that  time,  as 
far  as  known,  the  only  member  of  the  regiment  who  had  done 
so.  No  difficulty  was  experienced,  either  in  going  to  or  rec- 
ognizing the  place.  The  huts  were,  of  course,  all  gone.  A 
small  farm  house  stood  three  or  four  rods  east  of  the  slate 
quarry.  The  improved  land  about  the  house  was  very  nearly 
the  same  as  that  included  within  the  limits  of  our  guard  line. 
Outside  the  fence,  along  the  ravine  on  the  north,  was  a  deep 
path,  which  had  every  appearance  of  being  the  guard  line 
itself,  worn  there  by  the  ceaseless  tramping  of  sentinels. 
Along  that  ravine  and  on  the  hill  farther  north,  the  stumps 
still  remained  where  we  cut  our  fire-wood.  They  were  not 
cut  any  too  near  the  ground.  At  different  points  where  the 
camp  was,  were  large  bearing  apple  trees,  which  sprang  up 
from  seeds  dropped  by  the  soldiers.  The  lady  at  the  house  in- 
formed the  writer  that  silver  dimes  and  quarters  could  fre- 
quently be  found  yet,  at  different  points,  particularly  where 
she  understood  the  sutler's  tent  had  been. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

OX  TO  WINXHESTER. 

The  morning  of  February  25,  before  it  was  fairly  light, 
the  regiment  was  formed  in  line,  the  colonel  gave  the  com- 
mand "  Battalion,  right-face,  forward  march,"  and  we  moved 
out  of  Camp  Halleck,  to  return  no  more.  We  were  leaving 
highly  prized  conveniences  and  pleasant  surroundings,  yet 
there  was  the  usual  cheering  and  demonstrations  of  gladness. 
The  matter  was  often  discussed  among  us  and  there  was  never 
any  dissent  from  the  sentiment  that,  if  the  difficulties  in  which 
the  country  was  involved  had  to  be  adjusted  on  the  battlefield, 
as  seemed  so  certain,  we  were  ready  to  do  our  share,  and  the 
sooner  it  was  done  the  better  it  would  suit  us.  So,  not  only 
this  move,  but  every  other  one,  clear  on  to  the  end,  which 
promised  something  decisive,  was  made  with  hilarious  exhibi- 
tions of  satisfaction. 

We  marched  over  the  hills,  directly  south,  to  the  railroad, 
not  much  over  a  mile,  and  found  cars  awaiting  us.  They  were 
ordinary  flat  cars,  wholly  innocent  of  any  kind  of  seats,  but 
we  climbed  on,  when  ordered,  with  alacrity.  The  marching 
we  had  done  up  to  this  time  was  nothing,  still  we  had  done 
enough  to  be  willing  to  ride  any  way  we  might  and  ask  no 
questions.  Even  before  this,  one  of  the  boys  was  asked  while 
on  a  march,  if  he  would  be  willing  now  to  ride  in  a  cattle 
car.  The  question  related  to  some  former  refusal,  or  threat- 
e  ned  refusal,  to  ride  in  such  cars.  The  reply  was,  "  Yes,  by 
blank,  I  would  gladly  ride  on  the  running  gears  of  a  wagon, 
if  I  had  a  chance." 

A  few  minutes  sufficed  for  getting  aboard,  and  the 
train  pulled  westward,  carrying  us  to  Sandy  Hook,  oppo- 
site Harper's  Ferry.     A  large  force  was  concentrating  there. 

At  Point  of  Rocks,  where  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad 
in  its  westward  course  first  touches  the  Potomac  river,  we 
saw  for  the  first  time  some  traces  of  that  huge,  monstrous  and 
remorseless  concomitant  of  war,  which  all  soldiers  saw  so 
much  of  before  the  end,  namely,  destruction  of  property. 
Of  the   long,  expensive  bridge   that  spanned  the  Potomac  at 


96 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


Point  of  Rocks  nothing  remained  but  the  stone  piers.  Most 
of  the  buildings  on  botii  sides  of  the  river  had  been  reduced  to 
ashes  and  bhickened  walls.  Where  any  remained  they  were 
riddled  with  cannon  balls  and  distressed  by  other  species  of 
rough  usage. 

At  Sandy  Hook  and  Harper's  Ferrv  the  case  was  sub- 
stantially the  same.  The  fine  railroad  bridge  here  was  also 
gone.  The  rugged  and  picturesque  natural  scenery  of  this 
vicinity  is  justly  far  famed.  As  distinguished  a  person 
as  Thomas    JeflFerson    has   left  on    record   his    high    apprecia- 


Gkorge  W.   Gore,  Co.  D. 
recent  portrait, 


JOHNT    BuESNAHAN,    Co.    A, 
RECENT   PORTRAIT. 


tion  of  it.  The  Potomac  seems  to  cut  squarely  through  the 
Blue  Ridge  range  here  and  makes  some  majestic  curves  while 
passing  between  almost  perpendicular  stone  walls,  many  hun- 
dred feet  high.  On  the  Maryland  side  there  is  scanty  room 
for  one  street  between  the  rocky  wall  and  the  water's  edge. 
In  war  times  the  few,  cheap,  weatherbeaten  houses  along  this 
one,  straggling  street  constituted  the  village  of  Sandy  Hook. 
On  the  Virginia  side  the  Shenandoah,  coming  from  the  south, 
after  vainly  beating  against  the  rocky  cliffs  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  97 

finds  an  outlet  into  the  Potomac,  just  where  the  latter  breaks 
through  the  ridge.  On  the  wedge-shaped  piece  of  rising  ground 
between  the  two  rivers  is  perched  the  town  of  Harper's  Ferry, 
rendered  so  full  of  interest  at  this  period  by  John  Brown's  un- 
lawful and  ill-advised,  though  not  unmerited,  blow  at  slavery. 
Many  of  its  sidewalks  are  successive  flights  of  stone  steps  and 
many  of  its  inhabitants  could  easily  commit  suicide  by  jump- 
ing from  their  doorsteps  into  their  front  yard.  The  country 
for  a  long  distance,  in  all  directions  from  Sandy  Hook  and 
Harper's  Ferry,  is  very  broken.  By  going  back  in  the  direc- 
tion we  had  come  this  time,  and  climbing  part  way  up  the 
east  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  we  found  a  field  large  enough  and 
barely  level  enough  for  a  camp.  That  such  ground  is  scarce 
in  that  region  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that,  being  at  Sandy 
Hook  on  two  subsequent  occasions,  we  camped  upon  the  same 
ground. 

On  February  26,  we  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia. 
This  we  regarded  as  an  event  of  great  importance.  We  were 
at  last  upon  insurgent  soil.  We  were  familiar  with  the  habit 
among  boys  of  giving  a  dare  by  making  a  mark  upon  the 
ground  and  challenging  the  other  fellow  to  cross  it.  Some- 
thing of  the  same  method  had  obtained  thus  far  in  the  war. 
When  the  boundary  of  a  state  which  had  declared  its  separa- 
tion from  the  Union  was  crossed  it  was  understood  to  mean 
that  hostilities  had  begun. 

The  crossing  was  efTected  on  a  pontoon  bridge.  Needless 
to  say  we  had  never  seen  one  before.  This  was  said  to  be  the 
first  one  used  in  real  war,  in  the  United  States.  Either  the 
event  of  our  using  the  bridge,  or  the  one  that  we  were  moving 
into  the  enemy's  country,  was  of  sufficient  importance  to  bring 
General  McClellan  up  from  Washington,  with  his  immense 
retinue  of  staff  ofticers  and  orderlies.  He  stood  upon  the  stone 
coping  of  the  canal  lock,  near  the  end  of  the  bridge,  where 
we  had  an  unobstructed  view  of  him  in  passing.  This  was 
the  first  time  most  of  us  had  seen  the  then  much  adulated 
"  Little  Mack." 

The  boats  composing  this  bridge  had  wood  frames  and 

canvass  bottoms.     They  were  anchored  at  regular  intervals  in 

the  stream,  by  what  seemed  to  be  the  regulation  pattern  of 

anchors   for  other  boats.     The  method  of  our   crossing  now 

was   in    strong   contrast   with   what   it    was   at    this    identical 

place,  and  on  a  similar  bridge,  ten  months  afterward.     Now 
7 


98  HISTORY    OF    THE 

an  officer  stood  at  the  end  of  the  bridge  and  saw  that 
the  distances  between  the  ranks  were  widened  and  the  step 
broken.  The  teams,  when  the  train  came  to  cross,  were 
detached  from  the  wagons,  and  the  latter  were  pushed  over 
by  hand.  The  same  course^  was  pursued  with  the  artillery. 
But  in  the  following  December  we  marched  over  as  if  on 
solid  ground,  and  the  wagons  and  artillery  did  likewise.  The 
water,  at  this  first  crossing,  was  high,  and  owing  to  the 
excessive  fall  in  the  river  at  that  point,  something  like  a  hun- 
dred feet  in  a  mile,  the  current  was  tremendous.  At  the  next 
crossing  the  water  was  not  high.  Still,  the  difference  was 
jnostly  due  to  increased  experience  with  such  a  bridge. 

Harper's  Ferry  was  a  fitting  place  to  begin  an  advance 
against  the  rebellion.  It  was  a  rebellion  solely  in  the  interests 
of  slavery.  Though  it  was  recognized  in  the  constitution  and 
protected  by  numberless  laws  and  court  decisions,  the  friends 
of  that  institution  were  not  satisfied.  Crazed  by  certain  inci- 
dents (prominent  among  which  was  the  wild  escapade  of  John 
Brown)  they  had  decided  to  break  up  the  government.  If  it 
was  right  to  suppress  his  lawless  act,  how  much  more  was  it 
right  to  suppress  their's? 

As  regiment  after  regiment  crossed  to-day  the  air  rang 
with  the  melody  : 

"John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave, 
But  his  soul  goes  marching  on." 

This  was  always  a  favorite  song  with  the  Union  army.  In 
singing  it  the  Union  soldiers  were  speaking  better  than 
they  knew.  Though  in  taking  up  arms,  nor  even  in  singing 
the  song,  most  of  them  did  not  mean  that  it  should  be  so,  their 
victorious  marches,  which  were  always  enlivened  and  made 
easier  by  the  singing,  were  to  bring  about  the  end  for  which 
John  Brown  had  died.  When  they  were  marching  on  it  was 
really  the  soul  of  John  Brown. 

The  Twenty-seventh,  and  most  of  the  troops  on  that 
side  of  the  river,  pursuant  to  orders,  spent  the  first  night, 
in  the  abandoned  dwellings  of  Harper's  Ferry.  This  would 
have  seemed  a  ludicrous  proceeding  later  on.  Of  course  there 
were  a  few  troops  which  remained  on  guard,  instead  of  break-- 
ing  up  into  small  squads  about  the  town.  There  were  pickets 
out  and  all  that ;  but  if  we  were  in  the  presence  of  an  enemy, 
as  all  seemed  to  think,  nothing  but  a  corresponding  simplicity 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA,  99 

on  his  part,  in  playing  at  war,  stood  in  the  way  of  his  accom- 
plishing our  complete  overthrow. 

And  the  way  of  putting  in  the  tirst  night  in  the  enemy's 
country  was  an  index  of  what  was  to  follow.  The  fact  has 
often  been  cited  that,  when  the  war  began,  there  were  no 
officers  on  the  Union  side,  fit  for  service,  of  higher  rank  than 
captain.  It  would  be  difficult,  however,  to  trace  in  this 
movement  upon  Winchester,  the  hand  of  even  a  captain  of 
some  military  experience.  In  1864  Sheridan  occupied  much 
the  same  position  with  his  army  that  Banks  occupied  with 
his,  after  clearing  the  river.  One  day  Sheridan  decided  to 
move,  the  next  he  fought  a  battle  near  Winchester,  and  the 
third  day  he  had  the  enemy  in  full  retreat,  up  the  valley. 
This  time  it  was  fifteen  days  after  our  crossing  the  Potomac 
before  we  entered  Winchester  unopposed.  One  brigade, 
sometimes  only  one  regiment,  advanced  at  a  time.  These 
successive  advances  were  usually  on  different  roads,  at  some 
distance  from  each  other.  W^hen  a  halt  was  made  each  com- 
mander selected  a  suitable  place  for  a  camp,  ordered  the  big 
tents,  then  in  use,  put  up,  and  soldiers  of  all  ranks  were  as 
care-free  and  as  little  solicitous  about  being  molested,  as 
they  had  been  at  home.  At  no  time  was  there  any  formation 
or  other  provision  made  against  an  attack.  The  man  who 
would  have  suggested  anything  like  a  breastwork  or  a  trench 
would  probably  have  been  voted  as  out  of  his  head. 

It  was  no  trouble  to  find  empty  houses  in  Harper's  Ferry. 
The  population  had  been  largely  employed,  before  the  war,  in 
the  government  arsenal.  This  was  now  in  ruins,  having  been 
burned  by  the  same  people  who  had  been  so  enraged  at  John 
Brown  for  taking  forcible  possession  of  it.  The  machinery  of 
the  arsenal  had  been  removed  south  by  the  insurgents,  and 
most  of  the  operatives  had  gone  along.  Considerable  of  their 
furniture  and  personal  effects,  though  not  all,  had  been  left 
behind. 

After  spending  one  night  in  the  houses  of  Harper's 
Ferry  and  another  in  camp  near  by,  we  marched  out,  late  in 
the  evening,  to  Charlestown.  Our  camp  there  was  on  the 
high  ridge,  at  the  northeastern  edge  of  the  town,  opposite  the 
residence  of  ex-Senator  Hunter.  A  person  visiting  that  loca- 
tion in  time  of  peace,  especially  in  summer  time,  will  find  it 
very  charming,  commanding,  as  it  does,  a  view  not  often  sur- 
passed.    The   writer   has   no  recollection   of   being   thus   im- 


100  HISTORY    OF    THE 

pressed  at  this  time.  There  was  a  high,  cold  wind  blovving^, 
and  the  wagons  were  hxte  getting  up  with  tents  and  rations^ 
rendering  our  condition  very  cheerless.  Only  part  of  the 
regiment  put  their  tents  up  when  they  did  arrive,  while  part 
laid  down  under  the  big  oak  trees  and  went  to  sleep.  The 
next  morning  the  latter  found  their  scant  covering  reinforced 
by  four  or  five  inches  of  snow. 

Our  interest  in  Charlestown  was  also  greatly  heightened 
by  its  relation  to  the  grim  old  apostle  and  martyr  of  freedom 
for  the  slave.  This  being  the  county  seat  of  the  county  in 
which  his  offense  was  committed,  it  was  here  that  John 
Brown  was  tried,  convicted  and  died  on  the  gallows.  Many 
of  us  visited  the  chief  points  of  interest  in  the  historic  drama. 
We  saw  the  jail  where  he  was  confined,  the  courtroom  into 
which  he  was  carried  on  a  litter  to  be  tried;  where,  with  the 
conscientiousness  of  a  medieval  martyr,  he  refused  to  permit 
the  plea  of  mental  derangement  in  any  form  to  be  entered  in 
his  behalf,  and  where,  with  heroic  fortitude,  he  received  his 
sentence.  We  were  also  shown  the  field  where  he  was  pub- 
licly executed,  and  the  very  instruments  —  platform  and 
gibbet  —  by  which  it  was  accomplished. 

The  writer's  mental  processes,  in  contemplating  these 
matters,  were  probably  very  nearly  the  same  as  most  of  those 
who  had  come  there  from  the  North  with  arms  in  their  hands. 
Personally,  he  had  not  been  greatly  awakened  on  the  subject 
of  slavery.  As  far  as  he  had  any  bias,  he  was  in  favor  of  let- 
ting it  alone,  which  involved  the  execution  of  all  laws  relating 
to  it,  particularly  in  states  where  it  existed.  From  this  stand- 
point, the  punishment  of  John  Brown  and  his  associates  was 
right.  But  the  fact  that  the  same  people  who  clamored  for 
his  life  were  now  in  rebellion  against  laws  equally,  if  not 
more  sacred  than  those  he  violated,  their  armies  being  led  by 
the  same  man  who  led  the  forces  when  he  was  captured, 
Robert  E.  Lee,  turned  the  sympathies  of  the  writer  wholly  to 
John  Brown.  While  the  unselfish  end  he  had  in  view  and 
the  patient,  uncomplaining  spirit  he  manifested,  in  contrast 
with  the  monstrous  cupidity  of  their  end,  and  the  murderous 
arrogance  of  their  spirit,  was  the  chief,  if  not  the  only  factor, 
in  transforming  John  Brown  from  a  criminal  to  a  demigod. 

We  remained  at  Charlestown  over  a  week,  occupied 
chiefly  in  guarding  the  property  of  persons  in  the  rebel  army, 
or  who  had   fled  on  the  approach  of  our  army.     The  writer's- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  101 

company  took  a  turn  of  two  or  three  days  guarding  a  fine 
plantation,  some  three  miles  beyond  the  town,  which  was 
said  to  belong  to  a  rebel  lieutenant-colonel.  It  was  distinctly 
stated  in  our  instructions  that  we  must  not  distress  anything 
ourselves,  or  allow  it  to  be  done,  because  such  a  course  would 
infuriate  the  owner.  He  must  have  been  equally  considerate 
of  our  feelings,  or  else  was  too  far  away  ;  otherwise,  he  would 
have  headed  his  command  and  made  us  all  prisoners,  isolated 
as  we  were.  March  6,  the  brigade  moved  on  to  Beckley's 
Mill,  a  mile  beyond  Smithfield.  This  camp  will  always  be 
sadly  remembered  by  us  as  the  place  where  we  lost  our  first 
man  killed  by  the  enemy.  This  was  John  Cheatham,  of 
Company  C.  His  company  was  on  picket.  Half  a  mile  in 
front  of  the  reserve  and  half  as  much  farther  beyond  the 
picket  line  was  a  farm  house.  In  the  night,  after  the  reliefs 
were  changed,  two  of  those  coming  off  duty  slipped  down 
toward  the  house  and  caught  a  goose,  out  of  a  flock  which 
had  betrayed  its  presence  by  quaking.  The  next  morning, 
on  complaint  of  the  owner,  the  entire  brigade  of  four  regi- 
ments was  searched  for  the  missing  goose.  Among  the  com- 
pany on  picket,  the  brigadier-general  conducted  the  search. 
All  the  time  the  goose  was  snugly  rolled  up  in  a  blanket 
and  packed  safely  away  in  a  knapsack.  Other  members  of 
the  company,  with  less  caution,  had  robbed  a  hive  of  bees. 
Some  evidence  of  this  was  discovered  by  the  general,  in  the 
fragments  of  honeycomb  scattered  about  where  the  company 
was  stationed.  This  led  to  the  severe  reprimand  of  several 
persons  and  the  usual  reduction  to  ranks  of  two  or  three  un- 
offending non-commissioned  officers. 

A  few  minutes  after  the  above  search  had  been  concluded 
John  Cheatham,  and  a  comrade,  went  over  to  the  house  to  see 
if  they  could  buy  something  nice  for  breakfast.  About  the 
time  they  arrived  there  a  party  of  horsemen  rode  up  and 
opened  fire  upon  them.  One  of  the  first  shots  struck  Cheat- 
ham in  the  head,  killing  him  dead.  The  surrender  of  the 
other  one  was  accepted,  and  he  was  carried  off"  a  prisoner. 
Two  years  after  this,  under  Sherman  or  Sheridan,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  farm  would  have  been  unceremoniously  shot 
and  his  buildings  burned.  Now,  with  mingled  emotions  of 
rage  and  sorrow,  we  took  a  last  look  at  the  endeared  features 
of  our  murdered  comrade  and  buried  him  in  his  blanket,  at 
the  foot  of  an  oak  tree.     The  farmer's  property  was  meantime 


102  HISTORY    OF    THE 

carefully  guarded  until  our  loyal  army  was  ready  to  depart. 

On  the  morning  of  March  10,  we  had  orders  to  move. 
We  struck  tents  in  the  rain  and  were  soon  ready  to  go* 
Presently  an  order  came  to  put  up  tents  again.  Just  when  we 
had  them  fairly  up  and  ourselves  sheltered,  another  order 
came  to  take  them  down.  This  time  we  went.  Our  route 
lay  over  sticky  clay  roads,  thoroughly  saturated  with  the  rain 
and  stirred  up  by  marching  troops.  We  crossed  a  number  of 
creeks,  or  the  same  creek  a  number  of  times,  in  either  case 
bridgeless.  Our  halt  was  at  Bunker  Hill,  on  the  pike  between 
Martinsburg  and  Winchester.  Here  we  met  the  forces  which 
had  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport,  the  Twelfth  and 
Sixteenth  Indiana  being  among  them. 

The  next  day  we  marched  up  within  about  four  miles  of 
Winchester  and  encamped,  in  a  grove  east  of  the  pike.  The 
enemy  was  reported  to  be  at  Winchester  with  a  large  army. 
That  was  what  our  papers  said.  Whether  our  commanding 
general  had  any  other  or  more  authentic  information  the 
judgment  day  may  reveal.  The  wagons  came  up  and  we 
pitched  tents  as  usual,  providing  ourselves  liberally  with  straw 
and  other  comforts.  The  forces  were  not  as  much  as  placed 
in  order  of  battle.  Late  the  next  morning — a  bright,  mild 
spring  morning — a  line  of  battle  was  leisurely  formed,  and  we 
advanced  slowly,  over  the  open,  level  country,  toward  the 
city.  We  could  see  a  long  distance  ahead.  No  enemy  came 
in  view.  Still,  the  line-of-battle  order  was  maintained.  Fre- 
quent halts  were  necessary  to  correct  the  alignment  and  wind 
the  men.  At  length  we  arrived  at  the  city.  Not  a  gun  had 
been  fired.  Not  a  rebel  soldier  had  been  sighted.  We  had  been 
fifteen  days  coming  from  Harper's  Ferry — twenty-five  miles. 
A  characteristic  incident  is  on  record  concerning  this  advance. 
The  leader  of  one  of  the  columns  that  were  see-sawing  along, 
on  different  roads,  discovered  ahead  of  him  what  he  decided 
was  a  strongly-posted,  formidable  enemy.  He  did  two  things 
promptly  :  Order  his  artillery  to  the  front  and  send  back  for 
reinforcements!  A  shot  or  two  from  the  artillery  developed 
the  fact  that  the  supposed  enemy  was  a  company  of  people 
(mostly  darkies)  threshing,  wheat  out  in  an  open  field,  with  a 
horse-power  machine. 

The  fortifications  at  Winchester,  which  had  been  reported 
so  extensive,  amounted  to  very  little.  In  any  time  of  danger, 
after  the  spring  of  1863,  one  regiment  of  our  army  would  have 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  103 

thrown  up  more  formidable  defences  in  a  single  night.  There 
was  a  half-finished  earthwork  on  the  ridge,  northwest  of  the 
city,  and  some  other  evidences  of  a  plan  to  defend  the  place. 
Numerous  round  shot  and  shells  were  scattered  through  the 
abandoned  rebel  camps.  Different  ones  of  our  boys  were 
accused  of  putting  twelve  or  twenty-pounders  in  their  knap- 
sacks, "To  keep  until  they  came  home,"  as  it  was  said.  The 
papers  for  these  assertions  have  not  been  produced,  however. 
As  a  fact,  a  member  of  the  regiment  did  appropriate  a  six- 
inch,  unexploded  shell  to  set  his  camp  kettle  on,  while  cooking 
beans.  The  vision  of  the  camp  kettle  sailing  through  the  air 
and  pieces  of  shell  gyrating  around  promiscuously  was  the  first 
inkling  he  seemed  to  get  that  a  loaded  shell  was  not  the 
proper  thing  to  use  about  a  fire. 

When  it  was  found  that  no  enemy  was  to  be  encountered 
at  Winchester  the  troops  dispersed  to  different  camping  places. 
As  we  were  marching  past  a  Pennsylvania  regiment,  an 
officer  jumped  down  from  the  fence,  upon  which  he  was  sitting, 
and  running  impetuously  up  to  Captain  Kopp,  gave  him  a 
pocket  knife.  He  said  the  knife  had  been  given  him  for  his 
homeliness  and  if  he  found  a  man  homelier  than  himself  he  was 
to  give  it  to  him.  He  thought  Captain  Kopp  justly  entitled 
to  the  prize.  The  captain  had  a  very  prominent  nasal  organ 
and  somewhat  rough,  angular  features,  but,  by  most  persons, 
was  not  considered  particularly  homely.  Still,  he  accepted 
the  knife  with  the  best  of  grace.  This  was  also  one  of  the 
times  Lieutenant  Van  Buskirk  attracted  a  great  deal  of  atten- 
tion. Some  of  the  troops  concentrated  at  Winchester  had  not 
seen  much  of  each  other.  As  the  regiment  marched  down  the 
pike,  passing  other  regiments,  the  men  came  running  in 
droves  to  see  our  big  lieutenant. 

We  established  our  camp  at  the  railroad  cut,  in  the  north- 
ern limits  of  the  city,  and  settled  down  to  regular  camp  life 
again.  Within  a  day  or  two  we  were  furnished  new,  dress 
uniforms,  including  tight-bodied,  long-tailed  coats,  with  high 
stiff  collars.  This  was  much  like  a  farmer  putting  on  a  fine 
beaver  overcoat  when  spring  work  begins.  The  warm  weather 
was  at  hand,  and  if  the  army  ever  hoped  to  do  anything, 
it  must  be  now.  But  we  accepted  the  dress  coats  like  little 
men.  The  presumption  is  that  we  did  not  see  the  glaring  folly 
of  the  thing,  at  the  time,  any  better  than  others.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  we  wore  those   heavy   coats   through   the   entire  sum- 


104  HISTORY    OF    THE 

mer,  in  all  its  heat  and  dust,  on  all  our  long  marches;  then,  in 
the  Fall,  exchanged  them  for  the  light-weight,  loose  fitting 
blouses,  which  constituted  the  regulation  coat  for  soldiers  in 
the  field,  until  the  end  of  the  war.  The  ten  days  at  Win- 
chester were  quite  uneventful,  in  most  outward  respects.  The 
inevitable  camp  guard  and  furnishing  safeguards  for  rebel 
homes  and  property,  constituted  the  staple  element  of  duty. 
A  considerable  squad  of  rebel  prisoners,  captured  by  scouting 
parties,  and  marched  near  our  camp  on  the  way  to  the  rear, 
greatly  excited  our  interest.  They  were  the  first  rebel  soldiers 
we  saw.  Several  other  Indiana  regiments  being  in  the  vicin- 
ity, gave  many  of  our  boys  the  opportunity  of  visiting  with 
relatives  or  acquaintances.  The  Twelfth  and  Sixteenth  regi- 
ments  had  been  under  Banks  when  we  joined  his  command. 
The  Seventh,  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  had  now  come  over 
with  Shield's  division,  from  west  of  the  mountains. 

Our  Surgeon  Johnson,  while  at  Winchester,  obtained  the 
mounted  skeleton  of  one  of  John  Brown's  sons,  killed  at 
Harper's  Ferry.  It  was  afterward  fully  identified,  and  returned 
to  the  family,  to  find  kindly  interment  in  the  North.  It  had 
been  exposed  in  a  doctor's  oftice  in  Winchester,  serving  the 
■double  purpose  of  an  anatomical  specimen  and  an  awful 
■example  of  the  fate  of  abolitionists.  This  was  much  vaunted 
^'  Southern  Chivalry." 

It  was  during  this  period  that  an  advanced  step  was 
taken  in  the  organization  of  the  army,  namely,  the  formation 
of  corps.  It  had  not  been  done  before,  but  has  since  been  the 
unvarying  custom  in  the  United  States  army.  The  troops  un- 
der General  Banks  were  designated  as  the  Fifth  Army  Corps. 

A  point  concerning  this  reorganization  well  worthy  of 
note  here  is  that  Brig. -Gen.  A.  S.  Williams  was  made  the 
commander  of  the  First  Division  (of  which  the  Twenty- 
seventh  formeda  part) — our  brigade  remaining  the  Second, 
as  before.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  long  and  most  sat- 
isfactory relation  between  the  Twenty-seventh  and  General 
Williams.  He  continued  as  our  division  commander,  when 
not  commanding  the  corps,  until  our  muster  out.  His  name 
will  appear  again  and  again  in  this  narrative.  From  the  start 
we  had  reason  to  respect  him  for  his  evident  abilities  and 
personal  worth.  Before  the  end  we  learned  to  venerate  and 
love  him,  both  as  a  great  soldier  and  a  great-hearted  gentle- 
man. 


TWENTY-SEVKNTH    INDIANA.  105 

But  a  fact  of  contrary  import  to  the  Twenty-seventh 
was  also  a  part  of  this  reorganization.  This  was  a  change  in 
brigade  commanders.  General  Hamilton  was  sent  elsewhere, 
and  Col.  George  H.  Gordon,  Second  Massachusetts  Volun- 
teers, was  put  in  command  of  our  brigade.  To  facilitate  this, 
the  Second  was  brought  into  the  brigade  and  the  Ninth  New 
York  taken  out.  We  were  sorry  to  lose  the  Ninth.  They 
were  as  different  from  us  as  men  of  the  same  language  and 
nationality  could  be  ;  but  the  members  of  the  two  regiments 
became  warm  friends,  and  whenever  we  met  the  Ninth 
after  this,  as  we  occasionally  did,  there  was  a  liberal  exchange 
of  kindly  sentiments.  The  number  of  this  regiment  was 
changed  later  on  to  the  Eighty-third  New  York. 


Brig.  Gen.  A.  S.  Williams. 

As  to  the  Second  Massachusetts,  it  required  time  for  them 
and  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  to  understand  one 
another  or  to  appreciate  each  other's  virtues.  Both  parties 
were  evidently  to  blame  for  this.  The  trouble  was  mostly 
•chargeable  to  the  sectional  and  provincial  state  of  the  country, 
previous  to  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  so  strongly  in  contrast 
with  its  present  broad  national  character,  which  was  one  of 
the  inestimable  benefits  of  that  war.  Because  of  the  numerous 
and  prominent  characteristics  observable  in  the  other,  so  difler- 
ent  from  what  they  had  been  accustomed,  the  members  of  each 
regiment  jumped  to  the  foolish  and  mischievous  conclusion  that 
the  other  was  deserving  only  of  jibes  and  ridicule.  It  seemed 
to  the  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh  that  those  of  the  Sec- 


106  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ond  rather  led  off  and  forced  this  issue  ;  that,  if  nothing  more^ 
they  were  forward  in  exhibiting  a  certain  air  of  contemptu- 
ous superiority  that  was  very  exasperating ;  but  it  may  have 
seemed  the  reverse  to  them. 

However,  the  two  regiment,  were  kept  together.  They 
were  forced  to  take  each  other  for  better  or  for  worse.  What- 
ever there  was  in  two  and  a  half  years  of  arduous  service^ 
with  its  ever-recurring  mutual  deprivations,  dangers  and 
losses,  as  well  as  its  opportunities  and  achievements,  to  tone 
down  asperities,  develop  lofty  sentiments  and  cement  friend- 
ships, they  had  the  benefit  of,  in  full.  The  result  was  that,  as- 
far  as  the  two  organizations,  especially  the  rank  and  file,  were 
concerned,  they  parted  in  very  different  states  of  mind,  with 
respect  to  each  other,  from  what  had  been  true  in  their  earlier 
association.  In  the  estimation  of  the  Twenty-seventh  the 
Second  Massachusetts  now  occupies  something  of  the  same 
ground  often  held  by  near  relations.  If  we  reserve  the  right 
to  criticize  or  find  fault  with  them  occasionally  ourselves,  an 
outsider  would  get  himself  into  trouble  very  quickly  if  he 
ventured  to  do  so,  in  any  respect  whatever. 

As  for  Gordon,  a  stalking  pestilence  would  have  been 
better  for  the  Twenty-seventh.  He  was  a  graduate  of  West 
Point,  a  bright,  sprightly  officer,  who  would  attract  favorable 
notice  among  strangers  anywhere,  and  few  men  could  make 
themselves  more  agreeable  than  he  could  when  he  wanted  to. 
But  there  was  probably  no  other  brigade  commander  in  the 
army  —  certainly  not  with  his  education  and  experience  —  so 
narrow  and  bigoted  in  his  prejudices,  so  circumscribed  and 
illiberal  in  his  sympathies,  and  so  utterly  incapal)le  of  being- 
just  or  of  seeing  things  in  their  right  light,  where  other  parties 
were  concerned.  This  was  largely  the  result  of  his  towering 
vanity  and  egotism.  He  was  so  supremely  "  stuck  on  him- 
self," as  the  present  phrase  goes,  that  he  could  not  be  respect- 
ful to  superiors,  considerate  of  subordinates,  or  learn  anything 
from  anybody.  In  practical  common  sense,  also,  he  was  as- 
much  lacking  as  he  was  in  moral  principle.  He  had  as  little 
conception  of  what  men  could  stand,  or  what  it  was  just  to- 
require  of  them,  as  he  cared  what  became  of  them.  Quick 
and  violent  in  temper,  erratic  and  whimsical  in  his  prefer- 
ences, tyrannical  and  overbearing,  as  all  egotistical  and  selfish 
persons  are,  he  was  wholly  unfit  for  any  command  in  the 
army.     What  irony  of  fate  it  was  that  placed  this  regiment  of 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


107 


thoroughly  true-hearted  young  men,  from  the  homes  and  fire- 
sides of  Indiana,  under  such  an  exception  of  a  person,  giving 
him  the  opportunity  to  reward  tlieir  devotion  to  country  with 
such  studied  abuse,  such  needless  sacrifice  of  their  lives,  and 
such  aspersions  of  their  reputations,  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of 
human  existence.  Unhappily,  he  will  require  further  notice 
as  this  narrative  proceeds.  He  has  really  left  nothing  on 
record  as  disrespectful  and  defamatory  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
as  he  has  of  General  Banks,  Governor  Andrew  and  even  of 
President  Lincoln,  but  they  were  in  a  better  position  to 
stand  it. 


W.  T.    Douglas,  Co.   I. 

(Killed  at  Antietam.) 


Chaplain  T.  A.  Whittei 


CHAPTER   IX. 


BULL  RUN  AND  MANASSAS. 

March  22,  we  left  Winchester,  cutting  across  the  fields 
from  our  camp  to  the  pike  running  east.  Nobody  seemed  to 
know  what  our  destination  was,  or  to  care  much  about  it. 
Most  of  the  regiments   of  our   division,  at   least,  were  in  the 


Gex.   C.   S.  Hamilton, 
(1st  Commander  of  our  Brigade.) 


Gen.   George  H.   Gordon, 

(From  a  photograph  kept  since  the  war 

liy  Capt.  Williams.) 


column.  We  jogged  along  in  a  lazy,  good-humored  way,  and 
only  made  fifteen  miles,  crossing  the  Opequan  and  passing 
through  Berryville,  both  names,  with  others  in  the  Valley,  de- 
stined to  become  forever  linked  with  the  name  and  fame  of 
Gen.  Phil.  Sheridan.  Our  camp  that  night  was  in  a  grove 
a  little  west  of  the  Shenandoah  river.  We  first  stopped  rather 
early  in  the  afternoon,  on  the  south  side   of  the  pike  and  later, 


TWEXTV-SEVEXTH    IXDIAXA.  lOO" 

for  some  reason  now  unknown,  moved  farther  on  and  to  the 
north  of  the  pike.  During  the  first  stop  the  colonel  unearthed 
a  shrewd  scheme  of  some  of  the  men  who  had  been  foraging, 
and  by  a  master  stroke  the  next  morning,  he  made  an  end  of 
the  Gosport  money  episode. 

The  Colonel  must  have  heard,  in  some  way,  of  some  of  his 
men  being  accused  of  foraging,  which  at  this  period  was  con- 
sidered very  naughty  indeed.  A  guard  line  was  established 
around  the  camp  with  the  strictest  orders  to  arrest  any  one 
having  anything  in  his  possession  that  might  have  been  for- 
aged. For  awhile,  nothing  out  of  the  way  was  discovered. 
Men  were  going  out  and  coming  back  with  various  lawful 
and  useful  articles,  but  none  seemed  to  have  anything  that 
was  contraband.  Among  other  things  carried  in,  were  num- 
erous bundles  of  straw.  They  all  appeared  innocent  enough 
and  would  undeniably  improve  a  soldier's  cheerless  bed.  At 
length,  the  Colonel  bethought  him  to  inspect  some  of  these 
bundles,  and  the  first  one  he  lighted  upon  contained  five 
chickens.  Others  revealed  like  returns,  until  the  Colonel  had 
enough  to  thsome  eatables  to  supply  a  feast. 

With  reference  to  the  Gosport  money,  the  Colonel  had 
evidently  been  on  the  lookout  for  the  arrival  of  a  fresh  supply 
from  Indiana.  The  chaplain,  or  some  one  else  conversant  with 
the  regimental  mail,  may  have  given  him  a  hint.  At  all 
events,  a  considerable  '"wad"  of  this  species  of  bogus  money 
arrived  in  the  mail  which  overtook  us  here.  The  company  in 
which  it  was  received  went  on  picket  that  night.  The  next 
morning,  just  at  the  time  when  the  pickets  were  to  start  to 
camp,  who  should  appear  at  the  headquarters  of  the  reserve 
but  Colonel  Colgrove.  When  the  entire  company  was  assem- 
bled, the  Colonel  demanded  the  package  of  so-called  money. 
When  it  was  not  forthcoming,  he  proceeded  to  search  for  it. 
He  did  not  find  it,  but  without  breaking  ranks,  or  giving  the 
men  a  chance  to  get  anything  beyond  what  they  already  had 
about  them,  he  gave  the  command  "Right  face,  forward 
march,"  and  kept  all  the  men  under  his  eye  until  the  regiment 
was  rejoined.  The  fact  was  that  the  one  who  had  the  custody 
of  the  unsigned  Gosport  bills  had  deftly  parted  with  them  when 
he  saw  he  was  going  to  be  searched,  securely  hiding  them  from 
the  sharp  eyes  of  the  Colonel.  But  having  no  opportunity  to 
possess  himself  of  them  again,  they  were  left  to  moulder  and 
decay  where  he  had  placed  them.     That  closed  up  that  deal. 


110  HISTORV    OF    THE 

The  next  morning  we  crossed  the  Shenandoah  on  a  tem- 
porary trestle  bridge,  erected  by  the  engineers,  and  began  the 
ascent  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  This  road  crosses  that  mountain 
range  through  Snickers  gap.  Our  regiment  was  barely  over 
the  river  when  one  of  the  piers  of  the  bridge  gave  way,  cut- 
ting oflF  those  following.  We  halted  where  we  were  on  the 
mountain  side,  for  the  bridge  to  be  repaired.  Waiting  is 
always  tedious,  but  the  boys  played  ball,  perpetrated  practical 
jokes,  etc,  to  pass  away  the  time.  During  this  interval  we 
heard  canonnading  in  the  direction  of  Winchester,  but  had 
little  thought  as  to  the  cause  of  it.  After  some  hours  we 
finally  started  on,  crossing  over  the  mountain  and  pitching 
our  tents  on  the  eastern  side,  close  to  Snickersville. 

Early  next  morning  we  began  to  retrace  our  steps.  The 
cannonading  we  had  heard,  while  waiting  the  day  before,  was 
a  battle  known  in  history  as  the  First  battle  of  Winchester,  or 
Battle  of  Kearnstown.  There  was  now  a  hasty  reversal  of 
plans.  We  moved  back  towards  Winchester  much  more  ener- 
getically than  we  had  gone  away  from  it.  Our  friends  of 
Shields'  division  had  really  defeated  the  enemy  signally,  before 
we  knew  of  the  engagement,  and  we  were  not  needed.  Still, 
we  were  going,  and  were  destined  to  serve  in  the  Valley  for 
the  present. 

The  balance  of  the  brigade  went  directly  on  to  Win- 
chester and  thence  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  rebels,  but  the 
Twenty-seventh,  with  a  section  of  Best's  battery,  halted  at 
Berryville.  We  remained  there,  quartered  in  different  aban- 
doned buildings  of  the  town,  for  four  days.  This  was  an 
event  in  our  history.  Away  from  the  rest  of  the  army,  we 
were  lords  of  all  we  surveyed.  We  had  the  whole  town  and 
country  to  ourselves.  Berryville  is  a  county  seat,  and,  before 
the  war,  had  about  a  thousand  people.  It  was  rather  com- 
pactly built,  with  more  evidences  of  wealth  and  culture  than 
was  then  common  in  places  of  its  size.  A  goodly  proportion 
of  the  people  were  originally  from  the  North,  but,  almost 
without  exception,  were  now  intensely  disloyal.  We  kept 
vigilant  pickets  on  the  outskirts,  night  and  day  ;  otherwise  we 
enjoyed  the  freedom  of  the  town.  The  people  who  were 
at  home  were  mostly  courteous  and  sociable ;  some  were 
friendly. 

The  proprietor  of  a  newspaper  had  run  off  and  left  his 
office.     Troops  there   before   us  had    distressed  it   somewhat, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  Ill 

but  a  "stafT"  was  organized  and  a  daily  paper  was  started. 
It  would  be  hard  to  mention  a  branch  of  business  at  which 
experienced  men  could  not  have  been  found  in  any  regiment 
in  the  Union  army.  Among  others,  we  had  several  expert 
compositors  and  printers  and  some  who  had  trained  slightly  at 
straddling  the  editorial  tripod.  Our  daily  was  called  TJic  Haver- 
sack. John  Crose  (quartermaster  sergeant)  and  W.  W.  Daugh- 
erty  (sergeant  major)  were  the  editors-in  chief,  with  a  large 
corps  of  contributors.  John  Rankin  and  J.  X.  McCowen 
were  the  responsible  printers  and  publishers.  Pretty  much 
the  entire  regiment  was  a  self-appointed  advisory  committee. 
That  is,  they  could  and  did  all  give  advice  freely  (in  two 
senses),  with  reasonable  certainty  that  none  of  it  would  be 
taken.  All  the  numbers  of  the  paper  are  still  preserved 
among  the  curiosities  of  some  of  our  members.  Comrade 
Crose,  in  particular,  had  them  sacredly  filed  away,  and 
though  all  were  permitted  freely  to  see  them  while  he  lived, 
no  inducement  would  secure  his  consent  to  part  with  them. 
He  has  now  lett  them  as  a  part  of  his  legacy  to  his  family,  the 
priceless  element  of  which  is  his  good  name  as  a  man  and  the 
spotless  record  of  his  faithful  and  unselfish  service  in  the 
Twenty-seventh. 

Another  thing  transpired  at  Berry ville  which  it  is  par- 
ticularly pleasant  (after  the  intervening  years)  to  chronicle. 
This  was  the  presentation  of  a  sword  to  Colonel  Colgrove  by 
the  other  commissioned  officers.  The  sword  had  been  ordered 
a  good  while  before  this,  but  did  not  arrive  until  now.  It  was 
ti  charming  thing,  a  real  Damascus  blade,  with  a  most  elab- 
orate and  ornate  hilt  and  scabbard.  The  presentation  speech 
was  made  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Morrison,  and  responded  to 
by  Colonel  Colgrove.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  permanent 
record  of  the  subject  matter  of  either  address  seems  to  have 
been  preserved.  The  impressions  made  by  the  occasion  are 
still  very  distinct. 

For  three  successive  days  The  Haversack  appeared,  and 
then — it  was  not.  Its  editors,  publishers  and  patrons  all  had 
business  elsewhere.  It  fell  to  the  Twenty-seventh  to  guard  a 
supply  train  to  Manassas  Junction  and  back.  The  Colonel 
now  says  there  were  2,800  wagons  in  this  train.  There  may 
have  been  that  many  or  ten  times  more,  for  all  any  one  in  the 
regiment  knew,  unless  he  was  told.  We  had  no  chance  to 
count  them.     We  saw  neither  the  head  nor  tail  of  the  train  at 


112  HISTORY    OF    THE 

any  one  time.  It  was  passing  through  Berryville  long  before 
any  of  us  were  up  and,  like  Tennyson's  Brook,  it  "  went  on 
•forever." 

From  Berryville  to  Manassas,  via  Chantilly  and  Center- 
ville,  is  sixty  odd  miles.  The  train  made  the  entire  distance 
in  two  days,  and  we  would  have  done  the  same  if  there  had 
been  any  way  of  crossing  Bull  Run.  We  started  March  28r 
crossed  the  Shenandoah  and  Blue  Ridge  at  the  same  places 
we  had  crossed  them  a  few  days  previously,  and  camped  for 
the  night  at  Aldie.  The  distance  was  only  twenty-eight 
miles,  yet  there  was  the  most  straggling  the  Twenty-seventh 
\vas  ever  guilty  of  after  it  learned  to  march  at  all.  We  were 
too  heavily  laden  ;  but  the  main  trouble  must  have  been  the 
crossing  of  the  mountain.  That  pass  is  very  high,  and  the 
descent  was,  if  possible,  more  wearisome  than  the  ascent.  It 
seemed  physically  impossible  for  large  numbers  of  the  men  to 
keep  their  places  in  the  ranks  the  latter  part  of  the  day. 

A  good  soldier,  or  a  person  who  has  much  ambition,  will 
soon  abandon  the  habit  of  straggling,  unless  positively  unable 
to  do  otherwise.  For  one  thing,  the  company  that  one  finds 
himself  in  is  not  congenial  to  a  spirited  soldier.  The  weak- 
willed,  doless  class,  and  the  constitutional  play-offs  are  always 
in  the  majority  in  the  rear.  Besides  this,  a  man  soon  learns 
that  the  gain  by  straggling  is  largely  delusive.  The  same 
distance  has  to  be  gone  over  any  way,  and  it  very  seldom  hap- 
pens that  a  soldier  cannot  get  over  the  distance  easier  in  the 
ranks  of  his  company,  hard  as  it  may  seem,  than  in  any  other 
way.  The  difficulty  of  regaining  one's  place  in  the  ranks, 
after  once  dropping  out,  even  for  a  little  while,  was  doubtless 
surprising  to  all  who  ever  tried  it. 

The  second  day,  we  marched  farther  with  very  little 
straggling.  It  snowed  all  the  fore  part  of  that  day  and  rained 
the  after  part.  We  arrived  at  Bull  Run  at  dusk.  There  was 
no  bridge,  the  foot-logs  were  afloat  and  the  water  was  too 
deep  to  wade.  While  we  were  vainly  working  with  the  foot 
logs,  to  put  them  in  place,  darkness  came  on,  black  as  hades, 
and  there  seemed  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  spend  the  night 
where  we  were.  The  ground  was  low  and  marshy — a  mere 
creek  bottom — while  the  snow  and  rain  falling  all  day  had 
rendered  it  impossible  to  find  anything  that  was  dry.  We 
managed,  after  infinite  difficulty,  to  get  small  fires  kindled  to 
warm  our  shivering  selves  by,  and  cook  a  little  something  for 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  1]3 

supper.  When  our  wagons  came  up,  we  pitched  our  tents 
promiscuously,  on  the  best  ground  to  be  had.  Any  kind  of 
brush,  limbs  or  timber  available,  was  spread  out  to  keep  our 
bodies  up  above  the  water  and  off  of  the  wet  ground.  Even 
then,  the  Run  having  overflowed  the  bottom  still  more  during 
the  night,  many  found  themselves  lying  in  water  in  the  morn- 
ing. We  shall  always  remember  that  night  as  among  the 
very  worst  ones. 

The  next  morning  the  Colonel  heard  more  than  he  was 
expecting,  for  once.  As  he  was  passing  through  the  camp  he 
spied  a  musket  laying  on  the  ground.  Immediately,  he  in- 
quired savagely,  "  Whose  gun  is  this.'''  "Mine,"  promptly 
and  with  asperity  in  his  voice,  answered  a  man,  hugging  a 
small  fire  nearby,  "Well,"  continued  the  Colonel,  "  you're 
a  fine  soldier,  to  let  your  gun  lay  out  here  all  night!" 
"  Colonel,"  said  the  man,  "  that  d — d  old  gun  is  no  better  than 
I  am,  and  I  had  to  lie  out  there  all  night  myself."  That 
was  a  poser.  Amid  some  illy  suppressed  merriment  among  the 
men,  the  Colonel  gave  his  nose  a  vigorous  pull  and  passed  on. 

On  the  ridges  between  Bull  Run  and  Centerville  were 
hundreds  of  log  huts,  some  of  them  still  covered  with  clap- 
boards, in  which  soldiers  of  the  rebel  army  had  spent  the  winter. 
It  was  a  current  tradition  in  the  regiment  afterwards  that 
some  of  our  men,  by  stealing  away  that  night,  to  seek  warmth 
and  shelter  in  those  huts,  had  introduced  the  festive  greyback 
among  us. 

Certain  it  is  that,  very  soon  after  this,  he  was  with  us 
numerously;  there  were  millions  of  him.  And  he  was  a  stay- 
er. If  not  "  a  friend"  he  was  a  something  "that  sticketh 
closer  than  a  brother."  At  first  we  were  all  inclined  to  keep 
him  entirely  to  ourselves;  we  carefully  concealed  his  presence 
from  our  most  intnnate  friends.  But  "  murder  will  out ;  "  it 
was  not  long  until  it  was  one  of  the  commonest  things,  to  see 
proud,  dignified  men,  without  turning  aside  or  saying  "  by  you 
leave,"  haul  their  shirts  over  their  heads,  turn  them  inside  out 
and  begin  to  search  for  the  pesky  intruder.  It  has  been  well 
said  that  "  the  soldier  who  boasted  that  he  had  no  occasion  to 
do  such  a  thing,  never  did  much  towards  suppressing  the  re- 
bellion." 

But  while  the  Johnnies  did  give  us  some  things,  at  differ- 
ent times,  to  remember  them  by,  it  is  perhaps  an  over  state- 
ment of  fact  to  say  that  they  gave  us  our  first  stock  of  grey- 

8 


114 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


backs.  The  spring  was  well  advanced  when  we  were  at  Bull 
Run;  shortly  after  that  the  warm,  summer  weather  was  upon 
us.  What  was  even  more  in  point,  we  were  becoming  more  and 
more  active.  Our  periods  of  rest  and  opportunities  for  wash- 
ing our  persons  or  our  clothing,  were  becoming  fewer  and 
farther  between.  Under  such  conditions  the  greyback  needed 
no  "  introduction."  Like  Topsy,  he  "  jes  growed."  Besides,  it 
is  part  of  a  record,  made  at  the  time,  that  two  men  in  one  of 
our  companies  were  found  to  have  grey  backs  upon  them 
while  at  Hoosier  City.  In  consequence,  they  were  forced  to 
burn  all  their  clothing. 


About  the  size  he  seemed  to    be  when  crawling 

DOWN    one's    spine. 

During  the  forenoon  we  leisurely  transferred  our  camp 
to  the  higher  ground  on  the  south  side  of  the  Run.  The  sun 
eventually  came  out  brightly  and  all  things  assumed  a  differ- 
ent aspect. 

Anywhere  here  we  were  upon  historic  ground.  The 
name  of  this  little  creek,  scarcely  two  rods  wide  and  but  a  few 
miles  long,  winding  down  through  a  barren,  uninviting  coun- 
try, had  been  heralded  around  the  world.  The  first  great  clash 
of  arms  between  the  champions  of  Union  and  freedom  and 
tnosQ  who  stood  for  secession  and  rebellion,  in  the  interest  of 
human  "^  slavery,  had  occurred  right  here.  The  very  soil  of 
the  .^w amp,  upon  which  we  had  spent  a  cheerless  night,  had 
been  hallo\Ved  oy  the  priceless  blood  of  patriots.  Though  the 
hottest  of.tne  cohtest  was  further  up  the  Run,  it  really  began 
at  tnis  crossing,  Blackburn  s  ford. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  115 

Many  of  the  regiment  looked  over  parts  of  the  battlefield 
with  but  little  satisfaction,  as,  from  lack  of  guides  or  maps, 
nothing  was  known  as  to  the  positions  of  the  forces  engaged. 
The  shallow  graves  where  the  brave  dead  had  found  scanty- 
burial,  many  of  them,  had  been  partially  opened,  by  some 
species  of  brutes,  either  having  two  or  four  legs.  Parts  of  hu- 
man skeletons  were  to  be  seen  in  many  places.  In  one  place 
were  several  human  skeletons  under  a  pile  of  brush ;  there 
was  nothing  to  indicate  that  they  had  ever  been  covered  with 
earth. 

The  country  was  dotted  everywhere  with  the  carcasses  of 
dead  horses.  As  it  had  been  eight  months  since  the  battle, 
we  supposed  that  the  horses  had  mostly  been  killed  afterwards, 
by  hard  usage. 

The  defenses  about  Centreville  and  Manassas,  while  of 
considerable  magnitude,  had,  as  all  the  world  knows  now, 
been  greatly  overestimated.  We  saw  the  veritable  "  Quaker 
Guns,"  that  is,  logs  of  wood  shaped  like  cannon,  with  which 
the  rebels  had  terrorized  our  authorities  for  so  long. 

After  passing  one  night  on  the  south  bank  of  Bull  Run 
we  moved  on  to  Manassas  Junction,  three  miles.  This  was 
also  a  place  of  world-wide  notoriety,  made  so  by  the  war. 
It  was  then  really  no  town,  scarcely  a  hamlet.  Besides  being 
the  headquarters  of  the  rebel  army  during  the  battle  and 
giving  its  name  to  the  battle  itself,  in  their  vocabulary,  it  had 
been  their  principal  depot  of  supplies  up  to  its  evacuation,  less 
than  a  month  before  our  visit.  In  abandoning  it  the  enemy 
had  evidently  destroyed  much  property  of  value.  There  was 
evidences  of  this  everywhere.  Here,  too,  as  at  Winchester, 
were  a  great  many  loaded  shells,  scattered  around.  The  boys, 
having  learned  their  true  character  by  this  time,  amused  them- 
selves by  exploding  them  to  hear  them  roar  and  see  their 
pieces  fly  through  the  air. 

One  night  was  all  that  was  allowed  us  at  Manassas,  then 
we  started  on  the  return.  The  supply  train,  going  back 
empty,  at  least  in  part,  wagons  were  detailed  to  haul  out 
knapsacks.  That  was  a  delightful  help.  We  made  Aldie  the 
first  day  with  ease,  camping  on  the  same  ground  we  had  occu- 
pied four  nights  before.  The  next  night  found  us  over  the 
mountain  and  across  the  Shenandoah,  in  the  camp  we  had 
used  ten  days  before,  the  first  night  after  leaving  Winchester. 
We  did  not  stop  at  Berryville,  but  passed  through  and  on  to 


11^  .         HISTORY    OF    THE 

Winchester,  camping  a  mile  south  of  that  place,  near  a  small 
mill,  some  distance  east  of  the  pike.  This  last  was  not  a  full 
day's  march.  We  could  easily  have  gone  eight  or  ten  miles 
further.  It  was  a  bright,  clear  day  and  warm  even  to  enerva- 
tion. Yet  the  next  morning  the  ground  was  covered  with 
snow.  Not  because  of  the  snow,  but  for  a  more  agreeable  rea- 
son, we  remained  in  camp  all  that  day.  The  paymaster  came 
again  and  gave  us  two  months'  pay. 

Money  never  seemed  to  do  us  as  much  good  as  when  we 
were  active.  There  was  little  chance  then  for  the  camp  fol- 
lowing peddlers  and  the  gamblers  to  get  in  their  work.  Later 
in  the  day  some  of  the  boys  went  back  to  the  city  on  pur- 
chasing errands.  Others  went  to  visit  the  wounded  in  the 
hospitals,  victims  of  the  recent  battle.  Still  others  visited  the 
battlefield.  Both  of  these  last  items  were  of  particular  inter- 
est to  us,  because  of  the  large  number  of  Indiana  soldiers 
engaged  in  the  battle  and  the  splendid  manner  in  which  they 
had  acquitted  themselves.  The  Seventh,  Thirteenth  and 
Fourteenth,  composed  largely  of  neighbors  and  friends  of  our 
regiment,  had,  by  their  impetuous  gallantry,  reflected  great 
credit  upon  our  noble  Hoosier  state.  The  Twenty-seventh 
boys  always  became  an  inch  or  two  taller  whenever  any  one 
of  the  regiments  from  our  state  serving  in  the  Eastern  army- 
was  mentioned  favorably. 


f:<;.  :'. 


cH AFTER :.x;;:.;,;h .,  ■' 


UP  THE  SHENANDOAH. 

On  April  (hh,  the  Twenty-seventh  started  from  Winches- 
ter to   join    the   army  which    was    pushing   its  way   '"up"'  the 


SeRGT.    J.    F.    NOSLER,    Co.    1. 

(Showing  our  second  uniform.) 

Shenandoah  Valley.  This  valle}-  runs  north  and  south,  but, 
curiously,  south  is  "up  the  valley"  and  north  is  "down  the 
valley,"  in  the  phraseology  of  the  people  living  there. 

A  march  of  fifty  miles  or  so  had  come  to  be  looked  upon 


118  HISTORY    OF    THE 

as  nothing  among  us  now.  It  was  a  current  saying  in  the 
regiment,  about  this  time,  that  the  Virginia  turnpikes  were 
almost  worn  out,  but  we  were  as  good  as  new.  The  first 
night  on  this  march  we  camped  at  the  bridge  over  Cedar 
creek,  which  gave  its  name  afterwards  to  one  of  Sheridan's 
battles.  The  second  night  we  camped  south  of  Woodstock, 
near  an  unusually  high  railroad  bridge.  A  march  of  a  few 
miles  on  the  third  day  brought  us  up  with  our  army,  lying 
behind  Stoney  creek,  north  of  Edenburg.  It  snowed  and 
rained  in  turn  that  day.  We  marched  on  past  the  camps  of 
all  the  infantry  and  located  our's  in  an  open  field  near  the 
little  stream,  beyond  which  the  enemy  enjoyed  the  freedom 
of  the  country. 

We  were  all  right  that  day,  and  felt  as  happy  as  larks, 
but  next  day,  without  any  previous  warning,  we  heard 
the  boom  of  cannon,  and  shells  began  to  drop  in  our  midst. 
The  second  shell  that  came  struck  m  a  tent  where  a  game  of 
cards  was  in  progress.  No  one  in  the  tent  was  hit,  but  all  of 
them  might  as  well  have  been.  They  were  scared  to  death — 
nearly.  This  shelling  caused  as  much  excitement  in  the 
Twenty-seventh  as  there  is  among  the  small  boys  of  a  village 
when  a  circus  procession  unexpectedly  turns  the  corner  and 
starts  down  the  main  street.  In  far  less  time  than  it  can  be 
told  every  man  was  out  of  his  tent,  and  hundreds  were  shout- 
ing :  "  Lay  down  !  "  "  Hit  him  again  !  "  "  More  of  it !  "  etc., 
etc.  But  none  of  the  shells  exploded  and  no  one  was  hurt. 
A  Union  battery,  already  in  position  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
pike  from  us,  began  firing  within  a  few  minutes,  and  less  than  a 
dozen  shots  from  them  were  enough  to  silence  the  rebel  battery. 

Our  sutler's  tent  happened  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  camp 
next  to  the  enemy.  Money  being  plenty  in  the  regiment 
trade  was  active.  But  even  with  old  Cahn,  business  counted 
for  nothing  in  the  midst  of  flying  shells.  When  the  first  shell 
came  whistling  along  and  dropped  down  ker-chug,  a  few  rods 
away,  he  rushed  up  to  Hep,  his  clerk,  and  fairly  roared  :  "  Hep, 
Hep,  you  d — d  old  fool!  Vat  for  you  always  bitch  dis  dent 
vere  de  schells  goome?"  Then  he  broke  out  of  the  tent, 
mopping  his  florid  face  and  bald  head  as  if  it  was  July,  Hep 
followed  him  with  some  apparent  concern,  and  said  in  his  slow 
drawl  :  "  Cahn,  better  as  you  goome  back  in  der  dent ;  you  git 
killed  oud  dere."  The  ridiculousness  of  the  situation  seemed 
just  then  to  come  to  Cahn,  and  he  turned  and  went  back. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA,  119 

We  had  some  desperately  foul  weather  while  at  this  place. 
There  was  rain  and  snow,  and  a  mixture  of  both.  We  fell  in 
line,  in  such  weather,  to  hear  of  the  great  victory  at  Pittsburg 
Landing,  announced  in  special  orders.  The  Western  troops 
in  the  Eastern  army  found  great  pride  and  joy  in  the  fact  that 
these  brilliant  achievements  were  accomplished  by  their  own 
kith  and  kin. 

April  17,  vve  were  up  at  1  a,  m.  under  orders  to  march, 
and  started  at  daylight.  This  was  really  the  first  day  we  had 
seen  in  the  service  that  seemed  to  count  for  something  towards 
crushing  the  rebellion.  Particularly  in  the  forenoon,  there  was 
a  decided  show  of  energy.  Our  advance  was  vigorous. 
Shields'  division  was  leading.  The  enemy  was  hustled  along 
unceremoniously.  Cannonading  was  often  brisk,  with  occa- 
sional rounds  of  musketry,  though  the  Twenty-seven  was 
given  no  chance  to  participate.  All  bridges,  even  small  cul- 
verts, were  found  on  fire.  But  our  men,  in  almost  every  case, 
were  in  such  close  pursuit  as  to  put  the  fire  out  before  much 
damage  was  done.  This  was  even  true  of  the  long  wooden 
bridge  over  the  North  Fork  of  the  Shenandoah,  at  Mt.  Jackson. 
Numerous  railroad  cars  and  other  property  was  burned  there, 
but  the  bridge  was  saved.  If  the  plank  had  not  been  removed 
the  men  left  behind  to  fire  it  would  have  been  captured. 

The  rebels  had  erected  several  large  hospital  buildings  at 
Mt.  Jackson.  It  appeared  to  be  an  ideal  place  for  sick  and 
wounded  to  recover  and  recuperate,  but  only  those  badly 
wounded  or  seriously  ill  had  remained  to  fall  into  our  hands. 

A  mile  or  two  south  of  Mt.  Jackson  the  pike  passes  over 
quite  an  abrupt  ridge,  and  there  the  rebels  made  a  show  of 
fight.  Our  brigade  and  a  brigade  of  Shields'  division  were, 
therefore,  detached  for  a  flank  movement.  Turning  square  to 
the  right  in  Mt.  Jackson,  about  a  mile  back  we  struck  a  dirt 
road  leading  south  parallel  with  the  pike.  It  was  rough  and 
hilly,  however,  and  in  places  it  was  boggy.  The  sun  came 
out  bright  and  strong,  so  that  the  weather  was  oppressive. 
The  men  of  the  other  brigade,  though  nominally  leading  us, 
straggled  shamefully,  and  were  soon  mostl}'  behind  us.  If 
we  straggled  any  we  had  the  advantage  of  having  no  organ- 
ized body  of  troops  following  us  to  report  our  conduct.  Our 
progress  was  undoubtedly  slow,  as  it  was  laborious  and  ex- 
haustive.    The    artillery  and  ammunition    wagons   stalled  in 


120 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


rtiahy -places,  and  had    to   be  pulled  out  of   mud-holes  and   up 
steep  hills  by  hand. 

Darkness  finally  overtook  us  before  we  had  regained  the 
ffike,  and'we  stopped  and  spent  tlie  night,  almost  without 
shelter  or  food.  The  next  morning  we  found  we  had  to  ford 
the  North  Fork  of  the  Shenandoah.  It  was  about  one  hundred 
yards  wide  and  waist  deep.  The  current  was  swift  and  the 
water  ice-cold,  really  melted  snow.  '  It  had  onlj'  been  three 
days  since  we  had  had  several  inches  of  snow,  and  plenty  of  it 
was  yet  to  be  found  in  the  glens  and  shady  places.  It'  tried 
our  grit  considerably  to  plunge  in  under  such  conditions,  but 
the  members  of  the  Twenty->eventh  were  all  soon  safely  over. 


J'v:i^^^^ 


Bad  Roads. 


Upon  the  suggestion  of  some  long-headed  person  or  persons 
an  expedient  was  adopted  in  our  regiment  that  greatly  miti- 
.^ted  the  severity'of  the  cold  water.  It  was  just  time  to  dis- 
pense with 'di-aWers  anyw'ay,'-so  by  taking  off  our  pants  we  had 
them  to  put  on  dry  after  we  were  over,  while  the  drawers 
tempered  the  water  considerably,  and,  on  the  other  side,  we 
took  them  off  and  threw  them  away.  Some  remarks  have 
been  made  about  the  appearance  of  the  Twenty-seventh  while 
thus  attired  for  wading,  but  we  do  not  care  for  that. 

Just  when  we  were  preparing  ourselves  for  the  plunge, 
several  members  of  another  regiment  came  around  a  bend  in 
the  river,  on  a  raft.  Some  distance  abave  the  ford  was  a  saw- 
mill, and  they  had  gone  there  and  prepared  that  contrivance, 
upon  which  they  hoped  to  cross  dry-shod.  Thev  had  probably 
lost   their   poles    by    having   them   caught    under  the  raft,  for 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  121 

when  they  came  in  sight  they  had  nothing  whatever  to  propel 
the  raft  with  and  were  drifting  helplessly  with  the  rushing 
current.  Most  of  them  were  standing  with  their  knapsacks 
and  other  equipments  all  on  and  their  guns  in  their  hands.  In 
response  to  our  laughter  and  cheers,  they  danced  and  swung 
their  caps  in  the  highest  glee.  Just  as  they  were  opposite  us 
the  raft  ran  plump  against  an  immense  rock.  The  concussion 
not  only  threw  the  men  off,  but  pitched  them  violently  a  rod 
or  more,  heels  over  head.  Such  a  confuted  ma^s  of  flounder- 
ing, gasping  humanity  as  was  there  for  awhile!  Heads,  legs, 
arms,  knapsacks  and  coat-tails  appeared  above  the  water  in 
turn.  Some  of  the  men  might  have  been  drowned,  but 
nobody  appeared  to  think- of  that  at  all.  It  was  so  extremely 
ludicrous  that  everybody  seemed  to  see  only  the  funny  side  of 
it.  After  a  while,  though,  the  men  all  managed  to  gain  a 
footing  and  stood  up  in  the  cold  water,  most  effectually 
drenched.  Their  guns,  caps  and  everything-else  not  strapped 
^o  them  were  gone.  Whether  they  ever  recovered  them  or  not 
we  did  not  learn. 

We  arrived  at  New  Market  before  noon.  The  balance  of 
the  troops  were  halted  there  and  we  encaniped  a  half  mile 
south  of  town.  It  was  two  or  three  days  before  the  wagons 
came  up  with  our  tents  ;  until  they  did,  we  sheltered  ourselves, 
as  usual  under  such  circumstances,  by  leaning  rails  against 
something  and  covering  them  wUh  straw,  rubber  blankets,  etc. 
The  weather  was  something  the  same  here  as  while  we  were  at 
Edenburg.  Rain  and  snow  contended  with -each  other  for 
supremacy,  with  the  odds  perhaps  a  little  more  in  favor  of 
the  rain.  New  Market  was  a  clean,  bright  looking  town  (if 
one  was  not  too  close  to  it),  and  the  country  about  it  was  the 
finest  we  saw  in  Dixie.  There  were  wheat  fields  there  that 
would  delight  the  heart  of  any  farmer.  We  drew  flour  for  our 
ration  of  bread  which,  if  not  desirable,  was  certainly  appro- 
priate, and,  as  it  seems,  was  the  last  flour  ever  issued  to  the 
Twenty-seventh. 

April  25,  we  advanced  to  Harrisonburg,  eighteen  miles. 
As  we  marched  along  the  ground  was  again  covered  with  snow. 
The  enemy  offered  no  resistance.  Our  camp  at  Harrisonburg 
was  again  in  an  oak  grove,  on  high  ground,  north  of  the  city 
and  east  of  the  pike  some  distance.  We  remained  there  until 
May  4.  In  the  interval  our  regiment,  with  others,  went  on  a 
reconnoissance  as  far  as  Cross  Keys,  eight  miles,  on  the  Stan- 


122  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ardsville  road.  There  was  also  a  picket  station  maintained,  by 
a  company  at  a  time,  at  Mt.  Crawford,  live  miles  out,  on  the 
Staunton  pike.  Most  of  our  companies  had  at  least  one  turn 
there.  The  reserve  headquarters  were  in  an  abandoned  store 
building^. 

We  all  remember  the  fine,  flowing  spring  in  the  center  of 
Harrisonburg.  In  other  respects  it  was  a  sightly  place  to  be 
in  a  slavery-ridden  country. 

On  May  5th,  the  army  began  a  retrograde  movement. 
That  day  we  marched  back  as  far  as  New  Market.  General 
Banks  had  not  had  his  headquarters  farther  south  than  that 
point.  This  time  at  New  Market,  we  camped  north  of  the 
town.  The  next  morning,  before  daylight,  we  started  and 
crossed  the  mountains  directly  eastward  of  New  Market.  The 
ascent  was  very  steep,  as  the  gap  was  almost  as  high  as  the 
mountain  itself.  We  reached  the  summit  at  sunrise,  and  the 
view  was  sublime.  Even  a  man  with  a  knapsack  on  his  back, 
a  musket  in  his  hand  and  looking  for  somebody  to  shoot  at,  if 
not  looking  for  somebody  to  shoot  at  him,  could  appreciate 
such  a  view. 

We  were  halted  awhile  and  gazed  at  the  wonderful 
panorama.  Then  we  descended  the  mountain,  on  the  eastern 
side,  and  bivouacked  at  its  base.  What  our  errand  over  the 
mountain  was  has  never  been  very  clear  in  our  minds,  if  it 
ever  was  in  anybody's.  The  next  day  we  moved  on  some 
miles  farther  and  halted,  in  a  heavily  wooded  glen.  The 
day  was  warm  enough  to  make  the  shide  grateful.  We 
remained  there  until  towards  evening,  apparently  without 
anybody  knowing  what  was  to  be  done  next. 

Suddenly  a  courier  dashed  up  and  said  excitedly  that  the 
Thirteenth  Indiana  had  been  ambushed,  and  was  being  "  all 
cut  to  pieces."  For  God's  sake,  we  were  to  go  and  help  them. 
If  anybody  ever  acted  promptly  and  energetically  it  must  have 
been  the  Twenty-seventh  at  that  time.  We  went  without 
knapsacks  or  anything  heavy,  except  guns  and  cartridge 
boxes.  We  did  not  go  double-quick,  we  simply  ran.  The 
colonel's  horse  was  on  a  smart  trot  the  whole  way,  and  often 
the  colonel  had  to  use  his  spurs  freely  to  keep  the  men  from 
getting  ahead  of  him.  The  distance  was  three  or  four  miles. 
On  the  way  we  met  two  of  the  Thirteenth  bringing  back  a 
prisoner,  but  we  did  not  stop  to  interrogate  them.  The  pris- 
oner was  hatless  and  very  red  in  the  face  from  running.     As 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  128 

we  passed  him  he  shook  his  fist  at  us  defiantly  and  swore,  giv- 
ing us  the  usual  chaff  about  what  we  would  get  a  little  further 
on.  After  a  while  we  sighted  the  Thirteenth  in  the  distance, 
upon  which  we  formed  in  line  on  the  crest  of  a  hill,  at  the 
right  of  the  road,  and  awaited  their  approach.  They  were 
falling  back  slowly  and  in  good  order,  as  though  nothing  had 
happened.  They  were  not  firing  at  anybody,  nor  was  any- 
body firing  at  them.  As  near  as  we  could  understand,  a  force 
of  rebel  cavalry  had  made  a  dash  at  them,  without  other 
results  than  a  temporary  flurry.     We  saw  no  wounded. 

As  we  stood  there  in  line,  waiting  for  the  Thirteenth  to 
reach  us,  two  very  ludicrous  incidents  happened.  In  one  of 
the  companies  was  a  lieutenant,  a  relic  of  the  Mexican  war, 
rather  too  old  for  such  a  run,  besides  he  had  sprained  his  ankle 
on  the  way.  He  was  ambitious,  however,  and  very  excitable. 
In  another  company  was  a  lieutenant  who  was  almost  blind. 
Both  of  these  lieutenants  had  been  left  behind  in  the  race. 
The  lame  one  was  the  first  to  come  up.  He  was  going  at  a 
sort  of  a  hop-step-and-jump  gait,  puffing  like  an  engine  on  a 
heavy  grade.  In  one  hand  he  held  his  pistol,  while  his  arms 
were  beating  the  air  like  the  fans  of  a  Dutch  windmill.  With- 
out appearing  to  notice  in  the  least  our  quiet  attitude,  he  ran 
up  against  the  rear  rank  of  his  company,  and,  holding  his  pis- 
tol over  between  the  heads  of  the  men  in  the  front  rank, 
shouted  with  immense  energy  "  Where  are  they,  men,  where 
are  they  ?  Can  I  reach  them  with  my  pistol  ?  " 

The  explosion  following  this  incident  had  barely  subsided 
when  the  lieutenant  with  the  defective  eyesight  appeared, 
groping  his  way  along,  but  evidently  making  the  best  time 
possible.  He,  too,  had  his  pistol  in  one  hand,  or  rather, 
in  both;  with  one  he  held  the  breech  and  the  other  the  barrel. 
When  he  sighted  the  regiment  he  shambled  cautiously  up  in 
rear  of  his  company  and  peered  and  squinted  around,  trying  to 
make  out  what  the  situation  was,  without  asking  any  ques- 
tions.    Directly  he   said,   to   one  of    the   sergeants   in  a  stage 

whisper  "  F ,  come   and    help    me   get   this   darned    thing 

down."  As  he  had  come  along,  he  had  thought  to  see  if  his 
pistol  would  work  all  right.  But  after  he  had  cocked  it  he 
could  not  get  the  hammer  down  again.  So  he  had  to  carry  it 
along  carefully,  with  both  hands.  These  two  incidents  fur- 
nished the  men  something  to  laugh  at  for  many  a  day.  The 
trouble  being  over,  we  marched  back  where  we  started  from 


124 


HISTORY    OF  'THE 


and    spent   the   night,    and   the   next    morning,' recross'ed   the 
mountain  to  New  Market. 

Ttlay  14,  the  army  started  back  northward  still  farther. 
We  marched  that  day  to  near  Woodstock  and  the  next,  to  near 
Strasburg.  Our  first  camp  there  was  close  to  a  spring,  the 
water  from  which  turned  a  mill  a  few  rods  below.  On  the 
17th,  we  moved  our  camp  a  mile  south,  near  Fishers  Hill, 
anotlier  point  made  historic  by  a  battle,  later  on.  At  this 
time  we  learned  that  Shields'  division  and  all  the  rest  of  Gen. 
Banks'  comnimd,  except  two  small  brigades,  ours  and  one 
other,  had  gone  elsewhere.  We  therefore  belonged  to  an  army 
intended  only  for  occupation,  not  aggression.  It  was  hard 
for  us  to  bear  it  with  any  cheerfulness;  we  wanted  so-methin-g 
to  do  ilnd  we  could  not  see  that  our  weakened-  coudificln--  giave 
abundant  promise  of  it.  r         ■.    .      .       ,''  ■  ,^j 


Fall  in  for  Roll  Call. 


The  next  day  we!  began  work  on  a  system  of  defenses, 
which  was  wise.  We  also  began  various  other  things,  which 
were  otherwise.  A  record  of  the  time  says,  -  "  Eight  roll 
calls  a  day."  It  is  strange,  but  nevertheless  true,  that 
officers  who  exhibit  a  fair  degree  of  ability  and  competency 
in  the  field  will  resort  to  ill-advised  and  even  mischievious 
measures  the  moment  they  get  into  camp.  It  would  perhaps 
not  be  too  much  to  say  that  this  characterized  Eastern  officers 
as  a  class.  It  seemed  to  be  bred  in  the  bone  with  them  to 
want  to  make  some  kind  of  show  or  demonstration,  when  not 
required  or  permitted  to  do  any  thing  else.  They  seemed  to 
have  a  peculiar  weakness  for  the  "  pomp  and  circumstance  of 
war "  and  this  showed  itself  prominently  when  in  camp. 
It  requires  a  share  of  common,  horse  sense,  as  well  as  military 
training  and  experience  to  cultivate  and  enforce  dicipline  in 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


125 


camp,  without  at  the  same  time  breeding  discontent  and  in- 
subordination. From  this  time  until  the  24th  we  worked  on 
the  projected  defenses  some,  did  picket  duty  a  good  deal, 
drilled  more  (part  brigade  drill)  and  fretted  and  complained 
most  of  all.  But  this  was  not  for  long.  It  does  not  appear 
that  any  man  of  our  army,  in  any  station,  knew  aught  of  what 
was  transpiring  beyond  our  picket  line.  Still  there  was  some- 
thing transpiring  nevertheless,  as  we  shall  see. 

There  was  one  part  of  this  work  of  fortifying  that  tlie  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  w«re 
well  qualified  for  and  rather  enjoyed.  That  was  felling  the  timber  and  chopping  it  into- 
proper  lengths.  They  had  mostly  had  e.xperiences  along  that  line.  Wliile  a  detail  from  the 
regiment  was  cho^jping  down  the  trees  near  Fisher's  Hill  at  this  time  the  Major-general 
came  up  and  expressed  great  satisfaction  at  the  facility  and  speed  with  which  the  work 
was  being  done.  It  was  a  surprise  and  delight  to  him  in  particular  to  witness  four  men 
chopping  on  the  same  tree,  at  the  same  time.  Two  men  chopped  on  each  side  of  the  tree' 
one  chopping  right  handed  and  the  other  left  handed,  and  striking  lick  about. 


Joseph  D.  Laughlin,  Co.   B. 

(From  recent  photograph.) 


John  D.  Laughlin,  Co.  B. 

(From-  recent  photograph.) 


CHAPTER  XI. 


BANKS'  RETREAT. 

The  somewhat  precipitate  movement  of  the  army  under 
General  Banks  out  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  in  May,  1862, 
is  commonly  referred  to  by  the  participants  as  "  Banks' 
Retreat."  It  is  sometimes  called  also  "The  Winchester 
Retreat."  This  movement  really  began  at  Strasburg,  twenty 
miles  beyond  Winchester.  The  Twenty-seventh  had  marched 
over  the  road  connecting  the  two  places  some  ^veeks  before.  It 
is  the  same  "  Good,  broad  highway,  leading  down,"  on  which 
the  famous  steed  later  in  the  war  carried  Sheridan,  when 
"  Twenty  miles  away." 

Authorities  higher  than  General  Banks  were  responsible 
for  the  blunder ;  but  a  bad  one  it  was  when  Banks'  army, 
reduced  to  a  skeleton,  was  halted  at  Strasburg  with  the  view 
of  defending  itself  and  the  country  in  its  rear.  It  was  pre- 
cisely like  a  man  taking  a  stand  on  one  of  two  roads  beyond 
where  they  intersect,  to  watch  for  a  foe  which  may  approach 
■on  either  of  them.  While  he  may  guard  successfully  the  one 
road,  his  enemy  is  liable  to  take  the  other,  and  attack  him  in 
the  rear.  Thus  it  happened  that  while  Banks  was  making  some 
tardy  preparations  to  defend  himself  on  the  theory  that  Jack- 
son would  come  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  proper,  that 
wily  chieftain  crossed  the  Massanutten  range  opposite  New 
Market,  through  the  same  gap  we  had  gone  two  weeks  before, 
and  moved  swiftly  down  the  Luray  Valley.  In  that  way  he 
not  only  turned  Banks'  incomplete  defences,  but  seized  his  rail- 
road and  telegraph  communications  with  Washington  and,  at 
the  same  time,  had  an  even  race  with  him  for  Winchester, 
through  which  Banks  was  obliged  to  pass  if  he  desired  to 
escape.  In  fact,  the  first  that  the  Union  general  seems  to 
have  known  of  his  antagonist  was  that  the  latter  was  in  full 
possession  of  all  of  these  advantages. 

In  the  afternoon  of  May  23d  the  few  troops  which  Banks 
had  felt  himself  able  to  spare  for  the  defense  of  points  in  the 
JLuray  Valley,  consisting  mostly  of  guards   for  bridges,  were 


TWEISTTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  127 

attacked  and  routed.  This  was  especially  true  of  the  force  at 
Fort  Royal,  the  most  important  of  the  points. 

However,  the  only  troops  in  the  Luray  Valley  with  which 
this  narrative  has  to  do  are  those  stationed  at  Buckton,  a  rail- 
road station  six  miles  east  of  Strasburg.  Here  Company  B, 
of  the  Twenth-seventh,  and  Company  G,  of  the  Third  Wis- 
consin, were  guarding  a  bridge.  They  had  been  there  but  a 
few  days  and  had  prepared  no  defenses.  Though  scarcel}' 
expecting  a  formidable  attack,  they  had  been  apprised  that  an 
active  enemy  was  prowling  in  their  vicinity.  Two  members 
of  the  Wisconsin  company  had  been  captured.  For  this  reason 
Captain  Hubbard  had  not  absented  himself,  as  he  had  been 
ordered  to  do,  to  consult  with  the  proper  authorities  about  the 
character  of  the  defenses  necessary  at  that  point,  but  had  sent 
his  lieutenant  instead.  Captain  Davis,  on  the  contrary,  came 
to  the  Twenty-seventh,  at  Strasburg,  that  morning.  What 
his  errand  was  does  not  appear  of  record.  On  his  return  in 
the  afternoon  he  was  captured  by  the  enemy,  and  spent  the 
summer  and  early  fall  in  various  rebel  prisons. 

The  bridge  guarded  by  our  men  at  Buckton  spanned  a 
small  creek,  which  comes  from  a  southerly  direction  and 
empties  into  the  North  Fork  of  the  Shenandoah.  The  latter 
stream  here  runs  east  and  west  and  the  railroad  follows  its  south 
bank.  South  of  the  railroad,  bordering  the  creek  on  the  east, 
•was  a  wheatfield,  and,  beyond  that,  a  large  tract  of  timber. 
The  camp  of  our  company,  B,  was  on  this  eastern,  and,  as  it 
proved,  most  exposed  side  of  the  little  stream,  while  the  Wis- 
consin boys  were  camped  upon  the  opposite  side. 

About  two  in  the  afternoon.  May  28d,  almost  without 
previous  demonstration  of  any  kind,  it  would  seem,  a  force  of 
rebel  cavalry,  numbering  three  or  four  hundred,  debouched 
from  the  timber  and  started  across  the  wheatfield  directly 
towards  the  position  of  our  soldiers.  Nothing  daunted,  both 
of  the  companies  promptly  rallied  in  line,  each  near  its  own 
camp,  and  offered  battle.  As  the  advancing  column  came 
within  range  a  sharp  fire  was  poured  into  it,  under  which  it 
soon  dissolved  and  sought  shelter,  mostly  by  returning  to  the 
woods  out  of  which  it  had  come. 

During  a  short  lull  of  hostilities  which  followed  this  first 
attack,  it  was  wisely  decided  that  our  company  should  cross 
the  creek  and  join  the  Wisconsin  company.  One  of  the 
reasons  for  this  was  that  the  enemy  had  showed  a  disposi- 


128  HISTORY    OF    THE 

tionto  work  his  way  along  the  bed  of  the  creek,  sheltered  by 
its  banks  and  the  bushes  and  briars  growing  upon  them,  thus 
getting  between  the  two  companies.  Once  over  the  creek, 
our  company  also  took  position  behind  the  railroad  and 
between  it  and  the  Shenandoah.  The  Wisconsin  company 
did  likewise,  if  it  had  not  been  there  previously.  Up  to  this 
time  Company  B  had  had  little,  if  any,  protection.  The 
new  position  was  an  unusually  good  one.  The  railroad  grade 
was  high  enough  to  form  a  good  breast  work,  and  with  the 
river  so  close  in  the  rear  of  our  men,  the  enemy  was  obliged 
to  make  a  front  attack,  if  at  all,  over  ground  mostly  open. 

Several  such  attacks  were  made,  with  greater  or  less 
determination  and  persistence.  One,  in  particular,  seems  to 
have  been  well  organized  and  spirited.  The  attacking  column 
of  mounted  men  charged  across  the  wheatfield  at  a  gallop,  offi- 
cers riding  ahead,  swinging  their  swords  and  challenging  their 
men  to  come  on,  while  all  yelled  like  demons.  But  the  sturdy 
boys  from  Indiana  and  Wisconsin  awaited  them  with  trusty 
rifles  and  equally  trusty  nerves.  At  the  command,  firing  began 
at  one  hundred  yards  range,  and  at  the  first  crack  of  a  gun, 
horses  began  to  rear  and  fall  headlong,  or  break  away  with 
empty  saddles.  A  few  of  the  more  reckless  dare-devils 
spurred  their  horses  up  near  the  railroad.  This  was  the 
closest  call  our  side  had  and  the  only  time  that  their  situation 
looked  critical.  It  also  practically  closed  the  engagements 
No  considerable  number  of  the  enemy  appeared  in  the  open 
after  this. 

During  the  progress  of  this  skirmish  volunteers  were 
called  for  to  carry  a  dispatch  to  the  authorities  at  Strasburg. 
Hiram  Kinneman,  the  teamster  of  Company  B^  was  one  to 
respond,  and,  swimming  the  Shenandoah  on  one  of  his  mules, 
he  was  soon  on  the  way.  In  response  to  this  message  the  other 
companies  of  the  Third  Wisconsin  marched  promptly  to  Buck- 
ton,  arriving  there  in  the  night,  but  not  until  after  the  enemy 
had  apparently  abandoned  all  eff"ort  to  take  the  place. 

This  was  the  first  time  any  part  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
faced  the  muskets  of  an  enemy.  We  could  scarcely  have  had 
better  men  to  represent  us  than  these  bright,  young  farmers^' 
sons  from  Daviess  county.  Though  at  some  disadvantage  at 
first,  they  exhibited  undeniable  evidence  of  possessing  thosp 
two  prime  requisites  of  a  soldier — pluck  and  discipline.  The 
company  lost   nine   wounded  and  elevea  captured,  these  las^ 


T\VE^•T^  -SK\'K\  III     INDIANA.  129 

being  either  on  picket  or  some  distance  away  from  the  b<Kly 
of  the  company  when  the  skirmish  opened. 

On  the  morning  of  May  24.  the  force  at  Buckton  was 
ordered  to  vStrasburg.  Company  B  loaded  their  wounded  in  a 
freight  car  and  pushed  it  before  them,  arriving  with  the  regi- 
ment barel}^  in  time  to  move  with  it  toward  Winchester. 

The  rebels  with  which  our  men  "argued  the  point  '  at 
Buckton  belonged  to  Ashby's  command.  He  was  a  bold, 
intrepid  cavalry  leader,  well  known  to  both  armies  in  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  at  this  period.  He  was  evidently  a  brainy. 
masterful  man,  who  had  gone  into  the  rebellion  with  great 
enthusiasm.  He  rode  a  showy  white  horse,  and  most  of  the 
men  in  Banks'  army  had  one  or  more  views  of  him,  from 
some  advanced  picket  post  or  wliile  on  the  skirmish  line. 
Like  many  of  those  adventursome  men  on  both  sides,  Ashby 
was  killed  early  in  the  war — at  the    battle   of  Port    Republic. 

The  loss  of  the  enemy  at  Buckton  must  have  been  con- 
siderable. Their  reports  state  that  they  met  with  "spirited" 
resistance,  and  claim  that  the  Union  detachment  was  finally 
"  dispersed.''  The  two  Union  companies  did  eventually 
abandon  their  position,  but  no  enemy  had  been  in  sight  o^" 
hearing  for  hours  previous  to  their  doing  so. 

Corp.  Henry  L.  Pittman.  of  Company  B,  has  the  credit 
among  his  comrades  for  a  cool  and  desperate  act  at  Buckton. 
The  story  is  that  he  was  on  picket,  at  some  distance  from  his 
company,  when  the  first  rebel  charge  was  made.  Escaping 
captu  e,  he  was  endeavoring  to  reach  his  command  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route,  but  was  sighted  bv  a  mounted  rebel  officer. .who 
charged  upon  him.  demanding  his  surrender.  The  officer 
must  have  imagined  that  Pittman 's  gun  was  empty,  Luckilv 
it  was  not,  and  when  the  officer  was  quite  near,  Pittman  siiot 
him  dead.  He  then  mounted  the  officer's  horse  and  rode  it 
into  camp.  There  is  a  tradition  among  the  members  of  Com- 
pany B  that  the  officer  was  a  Colonel  Sheets.  There  was  a 
Captain  Sheets  killed  at  this  time,  as  was  also  a  Captain 
Fletcher  and  possibly  others.  Stonewall  Jackson  in  his  re- 
port speaks  very  regretfully  of  the  loss  of  these  officers. 

The    main    body  of    Gordon's   brigade   at    Strasburg   was 

called  up  before  midnight  of  May  23.      In  obedience  to  orders 

we  took   down    our  tents,    loaded    the    wagons,   and    were  all 

ready    to    march.      We    had    no  more    sleep    that   night.      The 

writer,  in  common  with  most  of  the  Twentv-seventh,  did   not 
9 


130  JUSrOKV     (>1-      IHK 

have  another  wink  of  sleep  until  midnight  or  later  the  second 
night  following — a  period  of  over  forty-eight  hours — and  at 
the  end  of  a  march  of  over  sixty  miles. 

It  appears  that  Gordon  had  gone  to  General  Banks  that 
evening  to  urge  him  to  start  his  army  at  once  for  Winchester; 
but  Banks  had  a  mind  of  his  own,  and  declined  to  act  upon 
Gordon's  suggestions.  Stung  by  this,  Gordon  resolved  to 
iirouse  his  own  men  anyway.  He  could  hector  them,  if  not 
others.  It  seems  weak  and  grannyish  enough  to  consign  any 
officer  to  private  life,  if  not  to  infamy.  Yet  Gordon  blandly 
recounts  the  fact  himself,  as  something  to  his  credit.  All  the 
balance  of  Banks'  command  at  Strasburg  slept  ^until  morning. 
If.  as  Gordon  claims.  Banks  did  not  decide  to  go  to  Winches- 
ter until  a  few  minutes  before  the  start  was  made,  at  11 
o'clock  or  after,  on  the  24th,  it  is  apparent  how  useless  and 
heartless  was  the  loss  of  sleep  and  wear  and  tear,  Gordon 
inflicted  upon  his  soldiers. 

The  situation,  substantially  as  it  was,  was  circulated 
among  us  as  a  camp  rumor  soon  after  we  were  called  up  in 
the  night.  The  fate  of  our  men  at  Front  Royal,  the  very 
superior  force  of  the  enemy,  his  vigorous  advance  towards 
Winchester,  the  probability  that  he  might  attack  us  at  any 
])oint  along  the  way,  the  moral  certainty  that  we  would  soon 
confront  him  somewhere — all  these  facts,  with  others  equally 
as  accurate,  were  passed  from  lip  to  lip.  Still  we  were 
incredulous.  Such  things  were  then  hard  to  believe.  In 
addition  to  our  peaceful  surroundings — the  surpassing  beauty 
and  mildness  of  the  May  weather,  the  growing  crops,  the 
blooming  trees  and  flowers — we  had  now  been  in  the  enemy's 
country  so  long  and  had  met  with  so  little  resistance,  we  had 
about  made  up  our  minds  that  we  were  not  going  to  meet 
with  any,  of  a  serious  character.  So  many  times  before  this 
we  had  supposed  ourselves  on  the  point  of  going  into  battle, 
only  to  find  afterwards  that  there  was  very  little,  if  anything, 
to  base  such  a  supposition  upon,  we  had  about  concluded  that 
we  would  never  be  called  upon  to  light.  The  prevailing  opin- 
ion among  us  was  that  the  disturbance  was  nothing  more  than 
a  cavalry  raid,  or  a  feint  by  a  small  body  of  infantry,  largely 
exaggerated  by  those  concerned  on  our  side. 

But  we  soon  began  to  think  differently.  It  was  near 
noon  before  the  column  began  to  move.  When  we  did  start 
it  was  at  a  brisk  pace.      Moreover,  as  we   passed  through  the 


TWENTY-SEVEN  ril     INDIANA.  18f 

town  ot  StrasDUif^,  we  saw  many  evidt-nces  of  haste  and  alarm. 
Considerable  government  property  of  \  alue  was  being  burned. 
A  building  that  had  been  used  as  a  warehou>e  was  on  tire,  and 
men  were  engaged  in  setting  fire  to  tent>  and  other  camp 
equippage  for  which  there  was  no  transportation..  The  far- 
ther we  went  the  worse.  All  sorts  of  camp-followers  and 
hangers-on  about  the  army  were  on  the  move,  all  in  evident 
concern. 

The  most  pathetic  part  of  the  spectacle  was  the  ihrong 
of  colored  people,  of  all  ages  and  sizes  and  of  both  sexes — 
often  whole  families,  from  the  gray  haired,  wrinkled  par- 
ents down  to  the  little  pickaninny  carried  in  arms — e\ery- 
one  able  to  walk  loaded  with  bundles  of  various  kinds  and 
sizes,  all  eagerly  pressing  forward,  their  fear  and  consterna- 
tion plainly  showing  upon  their  ebony  features.  How  it  gave 
the  lie  to  the  ridiculous  assertions  heard  even  yet  in  the  North 
that  the  slaves  were  satisfied  with  their  condition  ! 

The  Twenty-seventh  was  in  the  rear  of  Gordon's  brigade, 
and  therefore  the  last  regiment  of  infantry  to  leave  Strasburg. 
We  had  barely  crossed  Cedar  creek,  where  we  saw  a  large 
guard  from  the  Twenty-seventh  on  duty  with  the  trains  and 
commissary  stores,  when  we  came  to  a  halt,  because  of  those 
in  front  of  us  doing  so.  In  a  moment  we  started  on  again, 
but  soon  found  that  the  infantry  was  turning  into  the  fields 
and  passing  the  wagons,  which  were  standing  still.  Many 
have  told  of  the  signs  of  panic  we  encountered  at  this  time. 
A  good  many  stragglers  had  turned  back,  as  well  as  some 
teamsters  without,  and  a  few  with,  their  wagons.  But  all  of 
it  was  as  nothing  compared  with  what  we  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  saw  in  the  second  attack  on  the  train,  later  in  the  day. 
As  we  moved  on  now  General  Banks  and  stafl',  with  orderlies 
and  attaches — a  large  and  showy,  if  not  warlike,  cavalcade, 
rode  by  us,  going  towards  the   point  of   supposed  danger. 

It  proved  that  the  force  making  this  attack  was  not  large, 
and  fled  on  the  approach  of  our  infantry.  A  few  shots  only 
were  exchanged  with  some  of  our  leading  regiments.  The 
Twenty-seventh  did  not  as  much  as  get  within  hearing  of  the 
fray. 

Instead  of  waiting  for  the  wagons  to  get  ahead  of  the 
infantry  again  the  column  continued  on,  leaving  them  in  the 
rear.  There  were  a  large  number  of  them,  occupying  the  road 
for  nearly  five  miles  in  one  stretch. 


132  HISTORY    OF    THE 

When  the  infantry  arrived  near  the  village  ot  Newtown, 
couriers  from  the  rear  brought  the  word  that  there  was  now 
trouble  in  that  quarter.  Colonel  Colgrove  was  therefore  ordered 
to  go  back  with  his  regiment  and  set  things  to  rights.  A 
lieutenant  of  Battery  F,  Fourth  United  States  Artillery,  with 
one  section  of  his  guns,  was  ordered  to  go  with  the  Twenty- 
seventh.  The  regiment  filed  into  a  field  on  the  west  side  of 
the  pike,  at  a  double-quick,  and  unslung  knapsacks,,  piling 
them  in  winrows.  It  was  expected,  of  course,  that  we  would 
get  them  again,  on  our  return.  Alas!  when  we  returned  our 
route  was  some  distance  away,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
pike  and  it  was  not  deemed  prudent  to  bother  about  knap- 
sacks, so  we  never  saw  our  knapsacks  again.  If  we  could 
have  had  a  few  articles  out  of  them  their  loss  might  have  been 
a  blessing  in  disguise.  But  not  only  our  blankets,  woolen  and 
rubber,  our  changes  of  underclothingand.  in  some  instances,  our 
food-supplies,  were  in  them  ;  our  reduced  stores  of  keepsakes, 
pictures  of  sweethearts,  handy  mementos  with  which  they  and 
others  had  supplied  us,  the  few  treasured  letters  we  had  designed 
to  presreve — all  of  our  household  gods,  as  it  were — had  been 
stored  in  them  also.  We  have,  therefore,  always  refused  to 
be  comforted.  Our  hearts  beat  heavily  against  our  ribs  even 
yet  when  we  think  of  those  uncircumcised  Phillistines,  the 
Johnnies,  gloating  over  the  contents  of  those  knapsacks.  Bv 
the  way,  a  member  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  who  was  himself 
captured  the  next  day,  was,  a  day  or  two  later,  taken  to  Stone- 
wall Jackson's  headquarters  ;  there  he  saw  a  large  force  of 
clerks  busily  engaged  reading  those  letters  and  others  obtained 
in  a  similiar  way.  They  were  doubtless  searching  for  infor- 
mation that  might  benefit  their  cause. 

After  ridding  ourselves  of  our  knapsacks  the  Twenty- 
seventh  moved  toward  the  rear  of  the  train,  on  the  run.  As  we 
approached  the  scene  of  trouble,  more  and  more  commotion  was 
in  evidence.  The  four  and  six-mule  teams  were  all  in  a  furious 
gallop,  drivers  were  lashing  with  their  whips,  shouting  and 
swearing  like  mad  men,  wagonmasters  and  other  mounted 
men  responsible  for  public  property,  were  joining  in  the 
uproar  and  all  were  making  a  supreme  effort  to  hurry  them- 
selves, if  not  others,  along  towards  a  place  of  safety. 

Coming  at  length,  if  not  to  the  end  of  the  train,  to  a  break 
in  it,  the  Colonel  formed  the  regiment  in  line  of  battle  behind 
a  fence  on  the  left  of    the  pike.      This    was  close  to  two  miles 


TVVENTY-SKVENTil     INDIANA. 


133 


south  of  Newtown.  Beyond  us  a  few  rods  was  a  large  farm 
house,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road.  Still  farther  on  there 
was  a  turn  in  the  road.  While  we  were  forming  in  this  posi- 
tion several  wagons,  which  were  not  in  sight  when  we  arrived 
there,  came  up  the  road  and  passed  us.  After  we  had  been  in 
position  some  time  one  more  did  likewise.  The  driver  was 
sitting  erect  in  the  saddle,  handling  his  whip  with  all  the 
dexterity  of  his  craft,  and  the  mules  were  in  a  sweeping 
gallop.  What  had  detained  this  one  team  so  long,  or  from 
what  conditions  it  had  escaped,  the  dri\er  did  not  pause  to 
hint  at.  He  deserves  mention  as  being  one  teamster  in  the 
war  who  did  not  desert  his  post  at  the  first  sign  of  danger. 


A    Stami'kokd    \\'a(;ox    Train 


Colonel  Colgrove  instructed  the  lieutenant  commanding 
the  artillery  to  halt  in  the  road  and  await  developments.  He, 
however,  preferred  to  unliinber  and  be  ready  for  action,  which 
he  did; 

We  had  not  waited  long  before  we  saw  dust  rising  down 
the  pike,  followed  by  some  yelling,  and  this  bv  the  notes  of  a 
bugle.  We  could  not  make  out  the  call  sounded  bv  the  bugle, 
but  supposed  we  were  about  to  be  charged  upon  bv  cavalry. 
As  we  stood  at  a  "  ready'"  one  lone  horseman  came  in  sigiit. 
We  never  felt  satisfied  whether  this  man  was  drunk  or  the 
victim  of  some  delusion.  If  he  was  in  his  right  mind  he  must 
have  supposed  others  were    following  him,    or  did  not  see  the 


184  insroKY   ok  the 

trap  into  which  he  was  rushing.  He  rode  ut  a  stead}'  lope, 
waving  his  sabre  and  cheering.  We  could  easily  see  that  he 
was  a  rebel  officer,  but  when  we  saw  that  he  was  alone  an 
order  was  passed  down  tlie  line  not  to  shoot  him.  So  he  rode 
unmolested,  plump  up  to  our  men  on  the  pike.  Halting  and 
exchanging  a  word  or  two  with  those  near  him,  he  seemed  to 
comprehend  the  situation.  But,  instead  of  surrendering,  as  he 
was  ordered  to  do.  and  as  every  dictate  of  reason  demanded  he 
should  do,  he  reined  his  horse  around,  leaned  forward  upon 
its  neck  and  started  back.  Instantly  a  man  or  two  fired  at 
him,  then  more,  then  more  still,  but  all  missed  him.  Then, 
without  orders,  but  by  a  common  impulse,  a  large  part  of  the 
right  wing  of  tlie  regiment  tired,  in  a  well-timed  volley, 
and  one  of  the  brass  pieces  was  fired  at  the  same  moment. 
Poor  man  !  his  was  a  bloody  sacrifice,  for  they  all  seemed  to 
hit  him.  His  body  fell  to  the  ground,  a  quivering  mass, 
riddled  with  holes.  His  horse  ran  a  short  distance  and 
stopped  ;  a  little  later  it  came  back  and  was  caught  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Twenty-se\enth. 

Almost  before  the  above  incident  was  concluded  we  heard 
the  rumble  of  wheels  and  could  occasionally  see  the  heads  of 
men  bevond  a  rise  of  the  ground,  in  the  field  directly  in  front 
of  us.  Before  we  had  fairly  time  to  think  of  what  it  might 
mean,  a  thin  line  of  smoke  shot  up  in  the  air.  Our  Colonel 
commanded  "Lay  Down  !  "  and  as  each  man  fell  deftly  forward 
on  his  face,  boom  I  went  a  cannon,  followed  instantly  by  a 
shell  passing  over  us  with  tlie  swisii  of  an  immen.se  sky-rocket. 
Others  followed  in  quick  succession.  Meanwhile  we  hugged 
the  ground,  as  all  soldiers  do  at  such  times.  Adam's  fa'rest, 
most  bewitching  daughter  never  received  a  closer,  more  ardent 
embrace  than  mother  eartli  gets  under  such  circumstances. 
The  shells  all  passed  iiarmlessly  over  us,  though  they  seemed 
almost  to  graze  our  backs,  some  of  them.  T'he  range  was  very 
short.  It  has  always  been  the  impression  of  the  writer  thitt 
we  might  have  reached  the  rebel  gunners  with  our  muskets. 
It  was  here  that  some  of  the  boys  found  words  to  express  the 
peculiar  sounds  made  by  a  shell  moving  through  the  air.  They 
said  it  seemed  to  them  to  say  in  hoarse  whispers.  "'Where  is 
he,  where  is  he?" 

Do  you  wonder  about  our  own  artillery.-  Well,  about 
the  time  the  first  rebel  shot  was  fired,  the  lieutenant  com- 
manding our  two    pieces    gave   the    order   to    limber  up,   and 


TWENTY-SKV'KNTH     INDIANA.  185 

before  any  of  us  comprehended  wliat  liis  design  was,  the 
whole  outfit  went  galloping  to  the  rear.  When  our  colonel 
saw  them  going  he  shouted  after  them,  "  Go  to  h — 1  with 
your  pop-guns,  they  are  no  account  anyway."  We  saw  no 
more  of  them  that  day. 

We  continued  flat  on  the  gronnd,  keeping  a  careful  watch 
through  the  fence  cracks,  for  a  considerable  period.  The 
shells  thrown  at  us  were  closely  aimed,  but  few  of  them 
exploded.  Those  that  did  explode  had  their  fuses  cut  too 
long,  so  the  explosion  occurred  far  to  our  rear.  After  giving 
ample  time  for  all  the  wagons  that  had  passed  us  to  get 
entirely  out  of  danger,  the  Colonel  moved  Company  A  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  pike  and  gave  the  order  for  all  to  about 
face  and  proceed  northward  in  line  of  battle. 

We  learn  from  the  rebel  reports  that  two  facts,  natural 
enough  in  themselves,  yet  which  need  not  have  been  as  they 
were,  had  the  effect  of  making  our  experience  that  afternoon 
very  different  indeed  from  what  it  would  otherwise  have  been. 
One  of  these  facts  was  that,  when  Jackson  first  struck  the 
pike,  upon  which  Banks'  men  were  marching,  he  made  the 
mistake  of  deciding  that  the  main  part  of  Banks'  army  had 
not  yet  passed  that  point.  He  therefore  headed  his  main 
force  southward,  away  from  us,  instead  of  northward,  toward 
us.  The  other  fact  was  that  the  small  part  of  his  army  which 
Jackson  did  send  toward  us,  consisting  mainly  of  cavalry, 
became  demoralized  when  they  overtook  some  of  our  wagons 
and  wrecked  them.  They  virtually  disbanded  for  a  time  that 
they  might  give  themselves  to  plunder.  Jackson  was  present 
in  person  when  his  head  of  column  came  onto  this  Valley  pike, 
and  he  had  at  hand  some  of  his  best  infantry  regiments.  If 
he  had  headed  his  main  force  north,  instead  of  south,  the 
Twenth-seventh,  while  so  eagerly  and  swiftly  rushing  back  to 
ascertain  what  was  the  matter  with  the  train,  would  have 
encountered  him,  face  to  face.  And,  notwithstanding  his 
error,  if  Jackson's  cavalry  had  not  failed  him,  it  would  doubt- 
less have  been  far  different  with  us  from  what  it  was.  On 
such  slight  circumstances  do  the  destinies  of  soldiers   depend. 

The  artillery  w^hich,  without  proper  support,  was  pound- 
ing at  us,  consisted  of  two  Parrott  guns  from  the  Rockbridge 
Artillery,  of  Staunton,  Virginia.  Captain  Poague,  in  com- 
mand, says,  "The  regiment  of  infantry  which  seemed  dis- 
posed to  make  a  stand     *     *     *     was  soon  dispersed  by  a 


13G  HISTOKV     Ol-     THE 

few  well  directed  shells.'"  We  have  seen  that  the  Twenty- 
seventh  \vas  "  dispersed  '"  much  like  our  Company  B  had  been 
the  day  previous.  It  had  cjuietly  withdrawn  when.no  good 
end  could  be  accomplished  by  remaining  longer.  Neverthe- 
less, there  was  merit  in  the  conduct  of  the  rebel  artillery.  As 
we  moved  slowly  back  in  line  of  battle,  toiling  up  the  slopes, 
climbing  the  fences,  jumping  the  ditches  and  water  courses-, 
j<'lti.ng  and  stumbling  over  the  rough  ground,  there  was 
scarcfly  a  step  of  the  distance  of  nearly  two  miles,  that  shells 
were  not  hissing  around  us.  Some  dropped  squarely  in  our 
ranks.  A  few  exploded  behind  us,  and  the  pieces,  as  they 
zigzagged  through  the  air,  smote  our  ears  with  their  wicked, 
terrifying  noises.  One  of  our  men,  Benjamin  Arthur,  of 
Company  F,  was  wounded  by  a  piece  of  shell.  When  w^e 
abandoned  one  elevation  they  were  ready  to  occupy  it.  When 
we  descended  into  a  ravine  they  pelted  us  the  instant  we 
began  the  ascent  on  the  opposite  side.  We  made  several 
halts,  and  at  each  one  there  was  an  about-face  and  a  straight- 
ening of  the  alignment.  But  all  the  time,  the  rebel  guns  kep]t 
at  their  work.  It  was  only  as  we  entered  the  village  of  New 
town  that  tliey  desisted,  probably  from  fear  of  injury  to 
friendly  women  and  children. 

Not  much  was  said  among  us  at  the  time  about  our. part 
in  this  adventure,  unless  it  was  to  recall  particular  incidents, 
for  tlieir  own  sake.  Considering,  however,  all  the  circum- 
stances, no  otlier  service  of  the  Twenty-seventh  reflects  more 
credit  upon  the  patriotism  and  soldierly  devotion  to  duty  and 
the  courage  of  its  members  than  this.  We  have  seen  that  be- 
fore leaving  Strasburg  it>  was  well  known  that  the  enemy, 
in  heavy  aggressive  force,  had  been  at  Front  Royal  the  even- 
ing before.  He  was  known  to  be  marching  upon  a  road  con- 
verging towards  ours,  either  abreast  of,  or  ahead  of  us.  That 
he  would  cross  over  and  strike  our  column  in  flank  at  one 
point  or  another,  appeared  certain.  When,  therefore,  our 
regiment  was  ordered  to  retrace  its  steps  alone  and  put  sev- 
eral miles  between  it  and  the  other  troops  composing  Banks' 
depleted  army,  the  fact  was  clear'y  understood  by  all  that  wq 
were  taking  great  risks.  Yet  no  one  ever  saw  an  order 
obeyed  with  more  htartv  cheerfulness,  not  to  say  eagerness, 
tlian  the  Twentv-seventh  obexcd  the  oider  to  unsling  knap- 
sacks and  go  to  the  rescue  of  the  train.  As  the  emergency 
developed  and  the  presence  of  a  real  foe  became  more  and  more 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  187 

certain,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  men  rose  higher  and  liigher, 
and  their  speed  increased.  When  lined  up  along  the  fence 
and  the  lieutenant  of  the  battery  deemed  that,  in  view  of  the 
threatening  aspect  of  affairs,  "  discretion  was  the  better  part 
of  valor,"  and  withdrew,  without  ceremony,  the  determina- 
tion of  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  to  stand  in  their  places 
and  face  any  contingency  rather  than  do  likewise,  was  very 
manifest.  When  the  rebel  yells  in  front  of  us  grew  threaten- 
ing  and   defiant,    and    the  colonel  said:    "D n   them,   let 

them  come  on!  They  will  find  us  here!''  the  sentiment  was 
cheered  vigorouslv.  And  the  extended  and  laborious  return 
march,  in  line  of  battle,  under  a  vigorous  artillery  fire,  was 
never  surpassed  for  ccol  deliberation  and  instant  attention  to 
all  commands. 

The  results  realized,  also,  were  not  inconsiderable.  It 
wus  the  boast  of  all  concerned  that  in  this  long  retreat,  of 
Banks'  army,  out  of  the  clutches  of  such  superior  numbers, 
only  about  fifty  wagons  were  lost,  of  a  total  of  almost  six  hun- 
dred. How  many  more  would  have  been  lost  if  the  Twenty- 
seventh  had  gone  to  the  defense  of  the  train  less  promptly 
than  it  did,  or  had  withdrawn  earlier  or  more  precipitately 
than  it  did,  will  never  be  known.  What  is  known  is  that 
the  enemy  was  driven  away  from  the  train  by  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  in  the  act  of  destroying  it,  and  that  not  another 
wagon  was  taken  by  him  after  our  arrival. 

Yet  such  are  the  ins  and  outs  of  so-called  history  that 
this  service  of  the  Twenty  seventh,  in  whatever  spirit  or  man- 
ner it  was  performed,  or  whatever  it  was  worth,  was  never 
recognized  at  all.  The  captain  of  the  battery  to  which  the 
section  belonged  that  accompanied  us,  in  iiis  report,  barely 
mentioned  the  fact  that  it  did  so.  With  that  slight  exception 
there  is  not  a  word  in  any  of  the  official  repoits  concerning  it, 
and  the  writer  has  met  with  no  reference  to  it  in  any  other 
paper  covering  this  period.  Colonel  Colgrove  was  doubtless 
partly  to  blame  for  this.  His  report  is  as  silent  on  this  sub- 
ject as  others.  There  is  no  telling,  however,  to  what  extent 
he  felt  himself  restricted  by  the  order  calling  for  reports,  and 
he  could  not  know  how  comprehensive  and  prolix,  not  to  say 
misleading,  some  other  reports  were  to  be.  No  fair-minded 
man  was  likely  to  foresee  that  those  above  him  would  dilate 
upon  and  magnify  the  smallest  things  done  by  others,  regard- 
less of  time  or  place,  and  maintain  a  damaging  silence  or  put 


13<S  HISTORY    OI       IHE 

forward  absolutely  false  statements,  concerning   the  Twenty- 
seventh. 

As  before  stated,  just  above  Xewtown,  reinforcements 
met  us,  coming  to  our  assistance.  These  were  the  Twenty- 
eighth  New  York  and  Second  Massachusetts,  infantry  regi- 
ments, and  Battery  M,  of  the  First  New  Yoik  Artillery. 
At  this  point  the  official  reports  begin  to  be  burdened  with 
accounts  of  an  attack  on  the  wagon  train  and  how  the  train 
was  saved.  Not  only  Gordon,  but  Banks  and  Williams  -as 
well,  give  these  commands,  along  with  the  Twenty-seventh, 
the  credit  of  saving  the  train  at  Newtown.  The  two  last 
named  generals,  not  being  present  at  the  time,  were  evidently 
led  astray  bv  Gordon.  It  is  hard  to  see  the  matter  in  any  other 
light  only  that  the  latter  was  designedly  lending  himself  to 
the  propagation  of  falsehood.  He  says,  "  Upon  arriving  near 
Newtown,  I  found  some  confusion  in  the  trains  and  saw  per- 
haps six  or  seven  wagons  that  had  been  overset  and  abandoned. 
The  Twenty-seventh  Indiana,  of  my  brigade,  previously 
ordered,  with  a  section  of  artillery,  to  this  point,  I  found 
drawn  up  in  line  of  battle.  The  rebel  battery  and  force  were 
said  to  be  at  the  town,  distant  beyond  about  half  a  mile."' 
Gordon's  report  was  dated  only  four  days  subsequent  to  these 
events.  Instead  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  having  been 
ordered  to  the  point  where  he  found  it,  half  a  mile  above  New- 
town, he  had  himself  communicated  the  order  to  the  regiment 
at  a  point  half  a  mile  below  Newtown  to  go  to  the  point  of 
attack,  which  he  knew  was  a  mile  or  more  farther  south.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  point  of  attack  was,  as  we  have  seen,  at 
least  two  miles,  if  not  more,  beyond  Newtown.  And,  if  Gor- 
don might  be  mistaken  where  it  was  that  he  had  given  the 
order  to  the  Twenty-seventh  and  where  the  order  required 
it  to  go,  he  could  not  be  mistaken  about  the  disorder  which 
he  says  he  found  in  the  train.  That  was  pure  fiction.  There 
was  not  a  single  wagon  in  sight  when  he  arrived,  except  the 
six  or  seven  wagons  which,  as  he  says,"  had  been  overset  and 
abandoned."  We  never  fully  understood  what  was  the  cause 
of  those  wrecked  wagons  being  at  that  point,  above  Newtown. 
As  there  had  been  an  attack  on  the  train  somewhere  in  that 
vicinity  earlier  in  the  day,  we  supposed  that  it  had  caused  the 
wreckage.  If  it  had  occurred  at  any  other  time  it  was  not 
because  of  any  rebel  attack,  for  no  other  had  been  made  any- 
where near  that  point.     The  wagons  wrecked  there  had  been 


TWENTY-SEVKNIH     INDIANA.  |.-{*.) 

mostly  loaded  with  long  pantoon  boats.  When  Gordon  met 
us  with  his  reinforcements  there  was  no  confusion  of  any  kind. 
The  rebels  had  dropped  to  the  rear  and  the  Twenty-seventh 
had  lined  up  and  was  standing  quietly  at  attention.  As  for 
the  train,  every  wagon  able  to  stir  a  wheel,  or  that  was  ever 
saved  to  the  Union  army,  had.  long  since,  moved  on  towards 
Winchester. 

Nevertheless,  the  jaded  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were 
heartily  glad  to  see  more  of  their  own  kind.  We  had  come  to 
be  somewhat  apprehensive  about  our  isolated  situation.  With 
the  utmost  alacrity  we  wheeled  into  the  column  and  were 
ready  to  move  back  towards  the  enemy. 

All  the  regiments  movt  il  promptly  southward,  through 
the  village,  and  formed  in  the  tields  beyond.  The  Twenty- 
seventh  was  not  the  leading  regiment  in  this  movement,  but 
followed  it  closely,  and  if  there  was  a  shot  fired  during  the 
advance  we  did  not  hear  it.  While  halted  in  the  open 
fields  detached  bodies  or  scouts  of  the  enemy  could  be  seen  in 
various  directions,  but  all  of  them  at  a  distance.  A  piece  or 
two  of  Battery  M  was  unlimbered  and  fired  several  shots. 
One  shot  in  particular  elicited  a  round  of  cheers  from  the 
infantry.  It  was  fired  at  a  squad  of  mounted  men  a  half  mile 
or  so  away,  and  was  so  well  aimed  and  well  timed  that  it 
exploded  exactly  in  their  midst. 

We  must  have  remained  stationary  nearly  if  not  cjuite  an 
hour.  During  this  interval  a  detachment  of  several  hundred 
Union  cavalry  came  to  us  from  a  westerly  direction.  General 
Hatch,  in  command  of  all  the  cavalry  under  Banks,  was  with 
them.  They  had  been  at  the  rear  of  the  Union  column,  and. 
finding  their  progress  intercepted  by  the  rebel  armv.  had 
reached  us  by  making  a  wide  detour. 

General  Hatch  confirmed  the  impression  that  a  large  force 
of  the  enemy,  infantry  as  well  as  cavalry  and  artillery,  was 
close  at  hand.  From  the  elevated  ridges  over  which  he  had  come 
he  had  plainly  seen    their  seried   ranks,  marching  on  the  pike. 

Darkness  was  coming  on  when  we  finally  turned  north- 
ward again.  Before  passing  the  disabled  wagons,  above 
referred  to,  a  detail  was  matle  from  the  Twenty-seventh  to 
burn  them.  When  the  body  of  the  regiment  inarched  by  tiie 
flames  were  glowing  brightly.  We  had  gone  on  but  a  short 
distance  when  we  heard  the  rebel  advance  scream  with  delight 
at  sight  of  them. 


140  HISIOKN      OK     I'HK 

From  Newtown  to  Winchester  the  Second  Massachuestts 
was  our  plucky  rear  guard.  The  Twenty-seventh  was  next 
to  it,  and  we  remained  within  easy  supporting  distance  the 
entire  way. 

Skirmish  firing  was  ahnost  constant  and  sometimes  fierce. 
Progress  was  very  slow  and  the  march  btcame  extremely 
wearisome.  A  slow  march,  now  starting,  now  halting,  long 
intervals  spent  standing  in  the  road,  momentaiily  expecting 
to  go  on,  is  a  hard  service  at  best.  At  no  other  time  does  the 
mischievous  knapsack  tug  so  exasperatingly  on  one's  shoul- 
ders or  the  cartridge  box  and  haversack  straps  cut  so  sharply  into 
one's  collar-bone.  If  it  is  in  the  night,  succeeding  a  long 
day's  march,  with  heavy  drain  upon  the  nerve  forces,  insuffi- 
cient sleep  the  night  previous,  and  insufHcient  food  through- 
out the  .day,  allot  which  was  true  of  us  at  this  time,  such  a 
march  is  killing. 

We  will  always  remember  the  conduct  of  our  cavalry 
that  night.  It  was  a  good  thing  for  them  that  we  had  not 
then  heard  of  a  reward  being  ofl'ered  for  a  dead  cavalryman, 
as  we  did  afterwards;  otherwise,  we  surely  would  have  killed 
a  few  of  them.  There  seemed  to  be  an  eflPort  to  have  a  small 
force  of  cavalry  remain  with  rlit-  rear  guard,  but  in  the  dark- 
ness,.  they  could  easily  rein  their  iiorses  out  of  ranks,  put 
spurs  to  them  and  go  speeding  away.  So  there  was  a  constant 
procession  of  them  galloping  through  our  ranks.  We  were 
in  mortal  terror  of  our  lives.  "  Look  out!"'  some  one  would 
shout,  and  the  word  would  be  passed  along  the  line  of 
tired,  sleepy  men,  followed  by  the  clatter  of  horses'  hoofs 
and  the  clink  and  rattle  of  sal)ers  and  accoutrements.  Men 
crowded  each  other  into  ditches,  or  over  stones  or  logs,  in 
their  efforts  to  get  out  of  the  way,  and  no  sooner  would 
one  scare  be  over  than  another  would  be  forthcoming. 
Many  emphatic  words  were  tired  at  the  fleeing,  cowardly 
scamps,  and  many  adjectives  and  epithets  were  used, 
some  of  them  not  popular  with  the  churches.  But  the  evil 
did  not  abate.  There  could  not  have  been  one  cavalryman 
with  the  rear  guard  when  it  arrived  at  Winchester.  Our 
cavalry,  however,  was  evidently  superior  to  that  of  the 
enemy.  Not  only  at  Middletown,  but  also  during  this  night 
march  and  after  our  retreat  began  the  next  day,  the  con- 
duct of  their  cavalry  was  severely  criticised  by  Jackson  and 
others     At    one   time  on   this  march    between   Newtown   and 


TWENTY   SEVENTH     1  N  D  r  A X  A  , 


41 


Winchester,  Jackson  brought  his  personal  escort  to  the  front. 
Under  a  smart  volley  from  our  side  they  broke  like  wild  cat- 
tle, almost  running  over  the  General  himself.  He  exclaimed, 
"Shameful!  Did  you  see  any  one  struck,  sir?  Surely  they 
need  not  have  run,  at  least  not  until  they  were  hurt." 


John   Bkesnaiiax,   Co.    A.  L'oi.ou    Sekgt.   John    L.  Files. 


The  portrait  on  the  right  illustrates  the  uniforms  worn  by 
the  Twentv-Seventh  after  tiu-  fall  of  '02. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  WINCHESTER. 

Circling  around  Winchester  on  the  west  and  i-oiith.  is  a 
series  of  irregular  hills  or  ridges.  The  Strasburg  pike,  enter- 
ing Winchester  from  the  south,  crosses  these  hills  obliquely, 
half  a  mile  from  the  city.  West  of  this  pike  the  hills  are 
quite  high  in  places,  with  valleys  and  ravines  between  the 
higher  knobs.  East  of  the  pike  the  hills  at  no  point  are  very 
high,  and,  in  that  direction,  the  land  soon  drops  off  into  a 
rather  level  plain.  Across  that  open  and  comparatively  level 
country,  the  road  from  Front  Royal  enters  W^inchester  from 
the  souethast. 

As  General  Banks'  two  brigades  of  infantry  arrived  from 
Strasburg,  May  ^4,  1862,  they  went  into  positions  on  these 
two  roads.  The  First  Brigade  arrived  before  dark,  and  was 
assigned  to  the  Front  Royal  road,  while  the  regiments  of  the 
Third  Brigade  (oursj,  as  they  arrived  later,  in  the  absence  of 
orders  to  do  anything  else,  seem  to  have  halted  of  their  own 
accord,  along  the  Strasburg  pike,  between  where  it  crosses 
the  hills  and  the  city. 

The  Twenty-seventh  did  not  arrive  at  Winchester  until 
about  midnight.  When  it  did  arrive  it  filed  into  a  cloverfield, 
at  the  south  edge  of  the  city  and  west  of  the  pike.  If  we  had 
not  had  the  experience  of  the  following  night,  we  would 
think  we  were  then  as  tired  as  men  ever  get.  Not  only  so, 
but  we  were  ravenouslv  hungry,  also.  We  had  not  cooked, 
or  prepared  in  any  way,  a  mouthful  of  food  since  soon  after 
midnight  that  morning.  The  system  was  still  in  use  among 
us  of  large  tents  and  large  mess-kettles,  hauled  in  wagons. 
We  did  not  even  carry  full  rations  on  our  marches,  the  meat 
and  heavier,  as  well  as  more  substantial,  articles  of  food,  being 
packed  up  with  the  kettles.  When,  therefore,  as  in  the  pres- 
ent case,  we  had  no  access  to  our  wagons,  rations  were  light, 
both  in  quantity  and  quality.  To-night  we  were  not  allowed 
fires.  So  if  anyone  had  any  means  of  cooking,  or  anything 
to  cook,  it  was  out  of  the  (piestion.      Not   even   a   cup  of  hot 


TWENTY-SKVF.NTH     INDIANA.  14i> 

coffee  was  obtainable.  The  best  any  of  us  could  do  was 
to  ease  our  knawing  stomachs  with  what  we  had  in  our 
haversacks.  Hardtack  was  the  main  reliance,  wasiied  down 
with  cold  water,  or  greased  and  seasoned,  to  a  limited  extent, 
with  pickled  pork,  in  case  one  was  lucky  enough  to  have  it 
and  able  to  eat  it  raw.  With  our  knapsacks  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemv,  blankets,  overcoats  and  everything  gone,  except 
what  we  had  on  our  persons,  there  was  nothing  for  us  to  do 
but  eat  this  rather  cheerless  supper,  and  lie  down  in  the 
rank  clover,  thoroughly  soaked  as  it  was  with  a  mountain 
dew.  As  there  was  nothing  under  us  but  wet  grass,  neither 
was  there  anything  over  us  but  a  limitless  expanse  of  murky 
fog. 

The  regiment  had  scarcely  lain  down  when  a  detail  came 
for  Company  C  to  go  on  picket.  No  one  who  has  not  had 
the  experience  of  it  can  begin  to  realize  what  an  extreme 
hardship  it  is  to  thus  go  out  and  stand  on  post  after  such  a  day 
of  prolonged  exertion  and  fasting.  There  was,  of  course, 
some  complaining,  but  the  company  went,  all  the  same.  There 
was  rather  more  than  the  usual  difliculty  in  tinding  a  suitable 
place  for  the  picket  line,  dark  as  it  was.  In  the  effort  to  do 
this  the  men  were  marched  and  counter-marched,  through 
fields  and  over  rough  ground.  One  of  the  fields  contained 
growing  wheat,  in  head.  It  was  so  very  wet  with  dew  that 
the  men,  after  passing  through  it,  were  as  wet,  up  to  their 
arms,  as  if  they  had  waded  a  river.  As  is  well  known,  the 
nights  in  a  mountainous  country  are  never  very  warm.  The 
day  may  be  sultry  and  the  night  which  ensues  will  chill  one 
to  the  bone.  So  it  will  never  be  known  which  rested  the 
least  or  suffered  the  most,  Company  C,  faithfully  watching 
on  the  picket  line,  or  the  balance  of  the  regiment  back  in  the 
clover-field  trying  to  sleep. 

Long  before  daylight  the  beating  of  drums  and  the  rumble 
of  wheels  in  their  front  advised  our  outposts  that  the  enemy 
was  again  on  the  move.  Without  waiting  for  breakfast  our 
forces  were  posted  to  await  his  coming.  The  Third  Wis- 
consin and  Second  Massachusetts  were  assigned  advantageous, 
sheltered  positions  on  the  nearest  hills  in  front.  The  Third 
was  nearest  the  pike  on  the  west  side,  though  not  joining  up 
to  it,  and  the  Second  was  west  of  the  Third.  The  Twenty- 
seventh  Indiana  and  Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  remained  in 
reserve.      At    earliest    dawn    the    rebel    pickets  advanced  and 


144  IIISTOKY     OK    THE 

engaged  our  pickets.  The  attack  along  the  pike  was  at  first 
mainly  on  the  west  side  of  it.  Our  pickets  on  that  side  were 
driven  back  to  the  main  line  before  an  attack  was  made  on 
the  other  side.  In  fact,  the  rebel  skirmishers  in  front  of  Com- 
pany C,  east  of  the  pike,  halted  at  long  range,  and  that  com- 
pany, after  exchanging  a  few  shots  with  them,  finally  came 
in,  in  obedience  to  orders,  and  not  because  they  were  driven  in. 

But  before  Compan}'  C  received  orders  to  come  in,  the 
main  rebel  line  west  of  the  pike  had  passed  beyond  them. 
As  they  were  marching  in  column  of  fours,  a  force  of  the 
enemy,  numbering  three  or  four  hundred,  came  suddenly  over 
a  hill  to  the  westward  and,  bringing  thsir  muskets  quickly  to 
an  aim,  fired  a  sharp  volley  directly  at  our  boys.  The  range 
was  about  one  hundred  j'ards.  As  the  company  was  in  the 
dusty  pike  they  could  see  balls  fall  around  and  among  theni 
like  rain,  but,  strange  to  say,  none  of  them  were  hit.  One 
soldier  fell  down  and  all  supposed  he  was  shot,  but  instantly 
jumping  to  his  feet,  it  transpired  that  he  had  only  stubbed  his 
toe. 

Shortly  before  Company  C  arrived  at  the  regiment.  Com- 
panies I  and  D  were  detailed  to  support  a  section  of  artillery, 
alreadv  playing  upon  the  enemy  from  a  knoll  in  our  rear. 
Thev  remained  in  the  discharge  of  that  duty  until  the  army 
abandoned  its  position,  and  were  not  with  the  regiment  again 
until  after  the  retreat  began. 

Sharp  skirmishing  continued  all  the  morning.  Occa- 
sionally the  fighting  approached  the  d  gnity  of  a  battle. 
Along  the  Front  Royal  road,  east  of  us,  the  enemy  made  an 
attack  in  force,  but  it  was  promptly  repulsed.  All  these 
operations  were  in  plain  view  to  us.  In  our  immediate  front 
the  Third  Wisconsin  and  Second  Massachusetts  were  attacked 
vigorously  by  the  rebel  skirmish  line  several  times,  but  each 
time  they  speedily  sent  their  foes  to  cover  again.  All  the 
while  there  was  a  steady  artillery  fire  from  both  sides.  The 
numerous  hills  and  knolls  aft'orded   fine  positions  for  artillery. 

From  the  top  of  a  small  tree,  about  three  hundred  yards 
from  us,  a  rebel  sharpshooter  (so  called)  was  firing  at  the 
men  of  our  regiment.  He  must  have  shot  a  dozen  times  or 
more  at  Colonel  Colgrove.  After  hearing  the  ping-ing-ing 
of  the  ball  we  could  see  the  smoke  raising  out  of  the  thick 
foliage  of  the  tree.  He  was  a  "dull"  rather  than  a  sharp 
shooter,  however.      His   balls   went  wide  of  the  mark,  except 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  145 

in  one   instance.      He  or  some  one  else  wounded  a  member  of 
Company  H  while  we  were  at  that  place. 

About  seven  o'clock,  the  firing  in  front  grew  very  savage 
and  a  sudden  flurry  was  observable  among  aides  and  orderlies. 
Gordon's  assistant  adjutant-general  rode  furiously  up  to 
Colonel  Colgrove  with  the  information  that  the  enemy  was  out- 
flanking us  on  the  right  and  ordering  him  to  take  his  regiment 
to  that  point.  In  much  less  time  than  it  requires  to  relate  it 
we  were  in  line  and  moving  by  the  right  flank,  in  column  of 
fours,  at  a  double  quick.  The  head  of  the  column  was  led  to 
the  left-oblique,  following  up  a  ravine.  Thus  we  ascended 
the  hill  and  likewise  passed  towards  the  fi-ont  and  to  the  right 
of  the  two' regiments  already  engaged. 

The  moment  we  reached  the  top  of  the  hill  we  drew  the 
fire  of  the  enemy.  Corporal  Michael,  of  Company  A,  was  killed 
by  the  first  volley.  He  was  in  one  of  the  first  files.  Brave 
man  !  He  fell  with  his  face  to  the  foe.  An  immense  musket 
ball  struck  him  squarely  in  the  forehead,  opening  a  hole  in  his 
skull  an  inch  in  diameter.  We  were  obliged  to  break  ranks 
somewhat  to  avoid  stepping  upon  him,  as  he  writhed  in  the 
convulsions  of  death.      Others  were  wounded  at  the  same  time. 

Passing  over  the  hill,  a  thrilling  spectacle  was  before  us. 
Beginning  a  little  more  than  one  hundred  yards  in  front,  thence 
back  as  far  as  the  view  extended,  Avas  a  mass  of  men  in  grey. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  we  ever  saw,  at  anv  one  time  afterwards, 
as  many  as  were  in  sight  at  that  time.  Unquestionably,  a  year 
or  so  later,  a  single  glance  at  such  an  overwhelmning  force 
would  have  satisfied  both  officers  and  men  of  the  stupend- 
ous folly  of  engaging  it.  But  it  is  well  said  that  new  troops 
do  not  know  wdien  they  are  whipped.  If  any  one  among  us 
had  any  thought  that  the  enemy  was  too  strong  for  us  he 
certainly  did  not  reveal  it  by  any  w'rd  or  sign.  Not  a  man 
flinched  or  hesitated.  On  the  contrary,  every  one  pressed 
eagerly  foward. 

When    the   rear  company   had  passed    over    the  hill,   the 

Colonel    halted    the     regiment     and     brought     it   to    a    front, 

facing   southward.      His   commands    "Halt"'    and    ''Front" 

could  be    plainly   heard   and  are  distinctly  remembered.     The 

lay  of  the  land  was  such  that  the  right  wing   of  the   regiment 

was  on  lower  ground  than  the  left.      The  enemv   was  also  on 

lower   ground   than   either  of  our    wings.      The   halt  was  but 

momentary,  then,  at  the  command  "Foward,"  we  advanced, 
10 


146  HISTORY    OF    THE 

in  regimental  front,  a  few  rods  down  the  slope,  to  a  fence, 
bordering  a  narrow  lane.  Like  most  Virginia  fencerows,  this 
was  badly  grown  up  to  brush  and  briers.  In  some  places  it 
was  impossible  to  see  through  it  or  over  it. 

Even  before  we  reached  the  fence  we  had  opened  fire 
on  the  enem\-.  Once  there,  we  began  to  load  and  fire  with 
all  possible  speed.  The  line  officers  urged  the  men  vehemently 
to  hurry,  but  also  to  be  careful  to  aim  correctly.  We  fired 
from  three  to  five  rounds  each  from  that  position  and  could 
clearly  see  that  our  shots  were  taking  eff'ect. 

Colonel  Andrews,  of  the  Second  Massachusetts,  was  a 
gentlemanly,  conservative  and  efficient  officer,  but  he  was 
mistaken  when  he  said  in  his  report  that  the  enemy  was  too 
far  away  and  our  fire  too  scattering  to  be  effective.  The 
fire  being  limited  by  the  number  of  men,  it  w^as  too  light  for 
the  size  of  the  advancing  column  and  did  not  continue  very 
long;  but  while  it  did  continue  it  was  very  eft'ective.  The 
writer  would  be  far  from  intimating  that  he  was  more  cool  or 
self  possessed  than  others,  but  while  the  firing  was  in  pro- 
gress the  thought  came  to  him  to  look  and  see  whether 
we  were  hurting  any  body.  It  was  just  when  the  enemy  was 
moving  obliquely  across  our  front,  towards  our  right,  in  column 
of  company  or  division,  close  order.  He  was  surprised  to  see 
how  many  rebels  were  being  hurt.  A  large  number  were  falling 
down.  Some  dropped  all  in  a  heap,  some  turned  half  way 
round  and  fell  side  ways,  some  fell  forward,  some  backward, 
some  fell  prone  on  the  ground,  while  others  caught  themselves 
on  their  hands.  A  still  larger  number  were  dropping  their 
■guns  and  starting  to  the  rear,  most  of  them  clapping  one  or 
both  hands  to  the  place  where  they  were  hit.  It  was  but  a 
momentary  glance,  taken  while  loading,  but  what  it  re- 
vealed can  never  be  effaced  from  memory.  The  only  other 
time  the  writer  has  any  clear  recollection  of  taking  especial 
note  of  the  effect  of  our  fire,  was  in  the  charge  of  the  South 
Carolina  brigade  on  Ruger's  brigade  at  Chancellorsville. 
There  the  sides  were  more  equally  matched  and  while  the  South 
Carolinians  were  desperately  punished,  the  relative  effect- 
iveness of  the  fire  was  no  greater.  Here  at  Winchester  the 
range  was  so  good,  and  the  enemy  so  massed  that,  with  any 
aim  at  all,  it  was  simply  impossible  to  miss. 

Still,  the  fire  did  not  bring  the  enemy  to  a  halt  or  change 
bis  course.     Among  those  nearest  to  us  there  was   some  con- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


147 


fusion  noticeable,  some  passing  to  and  fro,  as  if  officers  were 
holding  the  men  to  their  places.  But  hi  the  main  the  great 
mass  moved  on  its  course  as  though  unmolested.  What  might 
have  happened  if  the  lire  had  continued  longer  it  is  needless 
to  conjecture. 


-^  \^  -■;:  ,s>'  o 


In  the  meantime  the  Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  had  fol- 
lowed us  over  the  hill.  Soon  after  we  faced  southward  and 
started  down  towards  the  fence,  they  passed  us  and  con- 
tinued on  beyond.     Shortly  after  they  had  gone  by,  an  order 


148  HISTORY    OF    THE 

was  repeated  along  our  line  to  cease  firing,  about  face  and 
move  to  the  rear.  Any  one  knowing  anything  of  the  noise 
and  confusion  of  a  battle,  and  how  completely  absorbed  men 
become  in  the  work  of  loading  and  firing,  will  understand 
how  difficult  it  was,  under  buch  circumstances,  to  get  all  the 
men  to  come  to  attention.  It  was  necessary  now  for  the  line 
officers,  and  the  file-closers  also,  to  repeat  and  reiterate 
the  command.  When  the  order  was  finally  understood  it  was 
received  with  very  general  disapproval.  Many  protested 
urgently  that  we  could  hold  our  position  and  repulse  the 
enemy,  and  they  fell  in  ranks  to  retire,  with  lagging  steps. 

In  getting  positions  along  the  fence,  where  we  could  ac- 
complish something,  our  formation  was,  of  course,  broken  up 
considerably.  A  few  had  been  killed  and  several  wounded 
also.  So,  when  we  fell  in  to  move  to  the  rear,  our  formation 
was  imperfect.  Yet  the  line  moved  with  deliberation  and  for 
a  time  without  any  disorder.  But  the  Twenty-ninth  Penn- 
sylvania had  begun  a  retrograde  movement  about  the  time  we 
had.  The  writer  first  comprehended  the  nieaning  of  the  order 
to  move  back  by  observing  that  the  Twenty-ninth  was  moving 
to  the  rear.  The  two  regiments,  owing  to  impediments  in  the 
way  and  the  point  toward  which  both  were  moving,  followed 
converging  lines.  Our  right  wing  (since  about  facing,  our 
left),  to  avoid  contact  with  the  other  regiment,  sheared  away 
from  it.  That  brought  the  two  wings  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
too  near  together  and  doubled  up  the  center.  So,  from  that 
on  we  moved  with  no  undue  or  unseemly  haste,  but  not  with 
regularly  formed  ranks,  over  the  hill  and  down  its  northern 
slope. 

Colonel  Colgrove  attributes  this  lack  of  order  to  the 
shortness  of  line  officers  in  the  Twenty-seventh.*  It  was  still 
more  attributable  to  the  fact  that  all  the  field  officers  were 
dismounted.  This  was  by  direction  of  our  brigade  com- 
mander. Of  all  the  unwise  things  done  that  morning  this 
was  the  most  uncalled  for.  In  an  emergency  like  the  pres- 
ent it  rendered  a  commanding  officer  powerless  to  control  his 
men.  It  placed  him  on  the  ground,  where  he  could  not  be 
seen  or  heard,  except  by  a  limited  number.  In  such  a  change 
of  direction  as  we  were  obliged  to  make  at  this  time  it  lost 
him  his  proper  relative  position.  The  coolest,  best  disci- 
plined soldiers  that  were  ever  mustered,  veterans  of  a  score  of 

*  See  Colgrove's  Report  Rebellion  Record. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  149 

battles,  could  do  nothing,  under  such  circumstances,  but  follow- 
along  with  others.  They  could  not  know  what  else  to  do. 
If  Colonel  Colgrove  had  been  mounted,  so  his  soldiers  could 
see  him  and  understand  by  word  or  sign  what  he  wanted  them 
to  do,  a  very  brief  time  would  have  been  sufficient  to  extricate 
the  regiment  and  put  it  in  perfect  formation. 

The  command  to  about  face  and  move  away  from  the 
fence  had  been  first  communicated  to  the  Twenty-seventh  by 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Morrison.  It  had  been  brought  to  him  by 
Lieutenant  Scott,  of  Gordon's  stafT,  during  a  brief  absence  of 
■Colonel  Colgrove,  to  confer  with  Colonel  Murphy,  of  the 
Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania,  When  Colgrove  returned  he 
found  the  movement  in  progress.  Supposing  that  there  was 
some  mistake  he  halted  the  regiment,  had  it  face  to  the  front 
again  and  resume  firing.  But  when  Morrison  advised  him 
what  the  order  really  was  he  again  communicated  it  to  the 
regiment  and  the  movement  was  executed. 

Just  what  was  first  meant  by  this  order,  or  how  much  it 
was  expected  to  involve,  is  not  likely  to  develop  very  soon. 
■Colonel  Colgrove  has  always  believed  that  the  design  was 
simply  to  change  front  and  withdraw  behind  the  ridge, 
over  which  we  had  recently  passed,  in  order  the  more 
■effectually  to  oppose  the  rebel  column  which  was  swinging 
around  our  right.  At  least  this  was  all  he  expected  to  have 
the  Twentyseventh  do.  The  word  was,  therefore,  passed 
along  the  line  that  a  halt  was  to  be  made  as  soon  as  the  ridge 
should  be  recrossed.      All  were  to  be  ready  for  this. 

But  before  this  point  was  reached  by  the  Twenty-seventh 
the  entire  L^nion  line  had  started  to  the  rear.  When  we  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  reached  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  where  we 
had  a  view  of  other  parts  of  our  line,  it  was  all  in  motion. 
Beyond  the  Strasburg  pike  the  regiments  of  the  First  Brigade 
were  moving  briskly  over  the  open,  level  ground  which  had 
been  between  them  and  the  city,  preceded  by  their  ambu- 
lances, ammunition  wagons  and  artillery.  On  our  side  of  the 
pike  the  Third  Wisconsin  was  moving  down  the  steep  hill- 
side in  regimental  front.  Nearer  still,  the  Second  Massachu- 
setts was  retiring  in  column  of  companies,  the  ofiicers  mani- 
festing their  usual  concern  about  order. 

Colonel  Colgrove  frankly  admits  in  his  report  that  at 
this  juncture  the  order  in  the  Twenty-seventh  was  not  such 
as  he  labored  to  have  it.      The  reason  for  it  must  iiave  been  as 


150  HISTORY    OF    THE 

stated,  because  the  Colonel  was  dismounted  and  could  not 
make  himself  heard.  His  apology  was  hardly  called  for,  how- 
ever. If  there  was  a  degree  of  haste  or  confusion  in  our 
ranks  deserving  such  mention  the  writer  certainly  did  not 
see  it,  as  there  was  nothing  to  cause  it.  After  crossing  the 
hill  we  were  screened  from  the  muskets  of  the  enemy,  and  no 
shells  were  dropping  among  us  or  passing  over  us. 

Near  the  foot  of  the  hill,  on  the  northern  side,  and 
directly  on  our  line  of  retreat,  was  a  stone  fence.  Scarcely 
had  we  come  in  sight  of  it  before  it  was  said  that  that  wa& 
the  place  to  make  another  stand.  Capt.  W.  D.  Wilkins,  as- 
sistant adjutant-general,  in  a  report  to  his  chief,  General 
Williams,  locates  the  origin  of  this  order.  He  says  :  "  I  suc- 
ceeded, pursuant  to  your  orders,  in  rallying  about  three  com- 
panies of  the  Twentv-seventh  Indiana  Volunteers  behind 
a  low  stone  fence  traversing  the  rear  of  the  position  just 
vacated  by  the  artillery  on  the  hill.  This  had  scarcely  been 
done  before  three  regiments  of  the  enemy's  infantry  came 
over  the  brow  of  the  hill  and  poured  in  a  heavy  fire  on  the 
small  force  behind  the  fence.  Our  men  replied  with  spirit 
and  accuracy,  holding  their  position  for  about  eight  minutes, 
enabling  the  artillery  formerly  stationed  on  the  hill  to  get 
safely  to  the  rear.  This  accomplished,  and  seeing  the  useless- 
ness  of  a  further  resistance  in  the  presence  of  such  a  superior 
force,  I  directed  the  men  to  rejoin  their  regiment."  General 
Williams  doubtless  did  make  such  a  suggestion  to  Captain 
Wilkins,  but  that  the  same  thought  came  to  many  minds  and 
was  given  voice  by  many  persons,  both  officers  and  men,  is 
probably  equally  true.  It  was  pre-eminently  the  thing  to  do. 
If  the  captain  meant  by  three  companies  that  about  three 
hundred  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  rallied  behind  the  stone 
wall,  he  was  not  far  from  correct  again.  It  was  the  impres- 
sion of  the  writer  at  the  time  that  the  entire  regiment  was 
there.  The  body  of  it  undoubtedly  was  there.  As  has  been 
stated,  two  full  companies  were  absent  on  other  duty.  That 
some  others  from  causes  not  discreditable  may  have  become 
separated  from  the  regiment,  is  not  unlikely.  But  the  length 
of  the  wall,  as  ascertained  since,  was  about  equal  to  the  length 
of  a  regiment  of  four  hundred  men.  We  all  remember  that 
we  were  so  crowded  for  room  as  to  be  in  each  other's  way. 

We  fired  about  the  same  number  of  shots  each  from  this 
position  as  from  the  one  south  of   the  hill.      At  no  other  place 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  151 

was  the  enemy  in  front  of  tlie  Twenty-seventh  worse  punished, 
in  the  same  length  of  time.  Their  line,  which  was  three 
times  the  length  of  ours,  came  sweeping  over  the  hill,  cheer- 
ing and  waving  their  banners,  and  was  brought  to  an  instant 
standstill,  while  most  of  it  fell  back  behind  the  hill  for  pro- 
tection. We  could  undoubtedly  have  held  the  position  much 
longer  than  we  did,  perhaps  permanently,  if  exposed  to  a 
front  attack  alone.  Captain  Wilkins  is  also  in  error  as  to  the 
wall  being  low.  It  was  high  enough  to  be  a  comfortable 
shelter  to  men  standing  up.  When  ready  to  fire,  it  afforded  a 
splendid  rest.  If  open,  face-to-face  killing  in  war  is  ever 
murder,  then  murders  were  committed  there.  While  loading, 
men  picked  out  some  conspicuous  one  of  the  enemy  and  when 
ready,  took  delibrate  aim  and  shot  him. 

The  withdrawal  from  that  place  was  not  only  in  accord- 
ance with  orders,  but  orders  that  were  very  urgent.  It  was 
necessary  for  the  officers  to  insist  and  tlireaten  veliemently 
before  the  men  would  cease  firing  and  face  about.  As 
appears  in  Wilkins'  report,  the  result  justified  the  effort.  It 
is  the  proud  boast  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  that  "  It  never  lost  a 
color  or  a  cannon."  It  is  a  record  indeed  to  glory  in.  But  if 
the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  who  planted  themselves 
behind  that  stone  wall  at  Winchester,  had  failed  of  their  duty, 
the  boast  could  not   have  been  true. 

The  delay  on  the  part  of  some  in  obeying  orders  to  leave 
the  wall  was  the  means  of  dividing  and  disorganizing  the 
Twenty-seventh,  more  thun  any  thing  else  that  befel  it  that 
morning.  The  Colonel  being  afoot,  and  so  many  other  soldiers, 
citizens,  contrabands  and  camp  followers  surging  through  the 
streets,  it  was  impossible  for  a  soldier  to  find  the  regiment, 
after  losing  sight  of  it  for  an   instant. 

There  are  two  principal  streets  in  Winchester,  both  of 
which  curve  toward  each  other  at  the  south  side  of  the  city 
to  meet  the  Strasburg  pike,  which  would  otherwise  strike  the 
city  exactly  between  them.  Both  of  these  streets  were  liter- 
ally packed  with  humanity.  The  members  of  the  regiment 
largely  kept  together,  but  anything  like  perfect  formation 
was  out  of  the  question.  The  enemy  was  in  hot  pursuit. 
There  was  not  more  than  the  distance  of  a  square  between  the 
rear  of  the  Union  column  and  their  pu^surers.  Yet  that  divid- 
ing line  was  clearly  niarktd.  Iv\ctpt  on  lirst  entering  the  city 
and  as  we  were  leaving  it,  the  enemy  did   nut  lire   upon  us   to 


152  HISTORY    OF    THE 

any  great  extent.  They  could  not  do  So  wltliout  danger  of 
hurting  citizens  also. 

The  most  of  those  who  were  taken  prisoners  were  taken 
at  the  northern  end  of  the  city.  A  squadron  of  rebel  cavalry 
which  had  made  its  way  through  the  city  on  a  side  street, 
swung  around  and  cut  off  a  considerable  nuniber  of  officers 
and  soldiers  who  were  the  last  to  come  out  of  the  principal 
streets. 

There  is  one  fact  aboul  this- day's  ordeal  that  is  some- 
times lost  sight  of.  That  is  that  no  organized  body  of  men 
was  captured.  The  enemy  kept  clear  of  all  such.  It  was 
really  only  stragglers  that  fell  into  their  hands.  In  view  of 
this  fact,  those  commands  which  boast  of  their  perfect  organi- 
zation might  find  it  hard  to  explain  how  so  many  of  their  men 
came  to  be  taken  prisoners,  and  what  kind  of  men  those  were 
who  were  taken.  In  a  time  of  disorder  or  confusion  a  good 
soldier  may  become  separated  from  his  command.  But  if  the 
command  remains  in  pe:fect  order,  it  is  a  reflection  upon  a 
soldier  to  be  found  away  from  it  unless  disabled. 

Much  was  said  and  written  at  the  time  about  the  citizens 
of  Winchester  throwing  missils,  and  even  shooting,  from 
their  windows  at  Banks'  men  as  they  crowded  through  the 
streets.  Statements  to  that  effect  found  place  in  some  official 
reports.  The  writer  saw  nothing  of  it  himself.  He  saw 
vastly  more  people  in  the  streets  and  upon  porches  and  bal" 
conies,  than  he  had  supposed  were  in  the  city.  There  were 
also  evident  signs  of  interest,  and  some  of  delight,  over  the 
turn  of  alTairs. 

But  more  recent  visitors  to  the  city  from  the  Twenty- 
seventh  report  that  the  people  there  now  openly  boast  of  their 
beligerent  acts  at  that  time.  At  least,  one  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  an  officer,  was  wounded  by  a  pi>tol  in  the  hands  of  a 
citizen.  Another  member  of  the  regiment,  who  was  captured, 
makes  this  note  in  his  diary,  tlie  day  the  prisoners  were  started 
south:  "Give  the  devil  his  dues,  the  ladies  of  Winchester 
have  treated  us  well." 

A  mile  or  so  north  of  Winchester  Colonel  Colgrove  halted 
the  members  of  the  regiment  with  him,  and  as  others  came  up 
they  joined  them.  General  Banks  was  also  there,  assisting  to 
rally  and  reorganize  all  straggling  soldiers.  At  length  Banks 
gave  Colgrove  orders  to  move  on,  which  was  done  in  regular 
order.      It  was  during  this    halt   that  the    Colonel  first  got    his 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  153 

lioise,  his  orderly  having^  broucrht  him  while  we  were  wait- 
ing. As  the  Colonel  vaulted  into  the  saddle  he  used  some 
very  strong  words,  not  learned  in  Sunday  school,  and  asserted 
that  if  any  man  ever  got  him  off  his  horse  again,  at  such  a 
time,  he  would  have  to  shoot  him  off.  Discovering  also  sev- 
eral bullet  holes  in  his  old  blouse  he  took  it  off  and  cast  it 
away  We  all  remember  how  the  Colonel  rode  from  there  to 
Williamsport  in  his  shirt  sleeves. 

Just  after  this  reorganization,  and  a  new  start  had  been 
made,  a  cloud  of  dust  ahead  of  us  indicated  the  arrival  of  rein- 
forcements. The  troops  cheered  with  great  enthusiasm,  but  it 
turned  out  that  the  dust  was  being  raised  by  a  company  or 
two  of  cavalry  that  had  come  down  from  Martinsburg.  The 
number  was  too  small  to  be  of  much  help. 

This  day's  exactions,  especially  considering  what  we 
had  done  the  day  and  night  previous,  were  by  far  the  most 
severe  the  Twenty-seventh  ever  saw.  It  was  a  continuous 
forced  march  from  early  morning  until  late  at  night.  The 
pursuit  by  the  enemy  was  not  vigorous,  yet  it  was  persistent. 
Any  time  before  reaching  Martinsburg,  to  lag  behind  a  little 
meant  capture.  Some  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were  taken  al- 
most in  sight  of  the   Potomac. 

One  considerable  squad  was  captured,  some  distance 
from  Winchester,  under  provoking  though  ludicrous  cir- 
cumstances. Seeing  that  they  were  about  to  be  overtaken 
by  the  enemy,  they  decided  to  try  concealing  themselves 
under  an  abandoned  building  near  by,  in  hope  of  reach- 
ing our  lines  by  night.  They  all  got  snugly  under,  and 
thought  themselves  safe,  but  another  one  of  our  men,  lagging 
still  behind  them,  had  seen  them  crawl  under  the  building  and 
essayed  to  do  likewise.  He  carried  an  immerse  knapsack, 
larger  than  anvbody  else  in  the  regiment.  The  men  olten 
guyed  him  about  what  was  in  it.  They  saii!  it  was  a  wall 
tent,  a  feather  bed,  an  eight  day  clock,  etc.  Well,  he  iiad 
this  monstrous  knapsack  on  that  day  and  when  he  tried  to 
get  under  the  building  it  was  no  go.  Do  his  best,  the  open- 
ing was  too  small.  While  he  was  still  vainly  trying,  the 
enemy  came  up  and  took  liim.  As  he  rose  up  to  lace  his  cap- 
tors he  shouted,  "  Vou  might  as  well  come  out  boys,  we  are  all 
taken."  That  betrayed  the  hiding  place  of  the  others  and,  of 
■course,  they  had  to  come  out  too. 

The  distance  from  Winchester  to   \\'illiamsport  is   thirty- 


154 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


five  miles.  It  was  near  nine  o'clock  A.  m.  when  we  left  the 
former  and  about  the  same  hour  in  tlie  evening  we  arrived  at 
the  river  opposite  the  latter.  A  sliirht  Iialt  for  rest  w^as  made 
at  JNIartinsburg.  Tlie  people  there  t  ncouraged  us  quite  a  lit- 
tle by  their  Union  sentiments  and  supplied  many  with  sub- 
stantial articles  of  lond.  The  rest,  however,  only  served  to 
stiffen  our  joints  and  develop  the  sure  places.  The  twelve 
miles  from  there  on  seemed  longer  than  the  twenty- three 
before  reaching  there.      We  found  the  bank  of  the  river  oppo- 


PoTOMAC  River  at  Williamsport,  Md. 


site  Williamsport  a  vast  jumble  of  wagons,  camp  equippage 
and  men.  The  means  of  crossing  were  limited  to  a  few  small 
row  boats  and  one  rope  ferry  boat,  capable  of  carrying 
two  wagons  and  thirty  or  forty  men,  or  their  equivalent.  An 
effort  to  ford  the  teams  was  abandoned  :;fter  a  trial.  Several 
mules  were  drowned  in  this  attempt  and  two  or  three  wagons 
were  left  standing  out  in  the  stream.  The  water  would  almost 
swim  a  horse,  the  bottom  was  rough  and  the  current  swift. 
Captain  Bertram,  of  the  Third  Wisconsin,  at  first  had 
sole  charge  of  loading  the  ferry  boat,  but  finding  it  difficult  to 
secure  proper  order,  he  called  for  some  ollicerlo  hel{)  liim.and 
Lieutenant  Reed,  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  \oUuiteered.      They 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  155 

both  had  their  hands  full.  Men  would  crowd  up  and  threaten 
to  overload  the  boat.  For  a  time  General  Banks  himself  stood 
on  the  shore  and  assisted  in  controlling  the  men,  as  they  went 
aboard.  Captain  Bertram  was  shockingly  profane.  The 
atmosphere  fairly  turned  sulphureous  when  the  men  crowded 
onto  him.  General  Banks  said:  "Don't  swear  at  them, 
captain.  If  they  wont  obey,  put  the  bayonet  to  them,  but 
don't  swear  at  them." 

The  order  was  to  take  sick  men  and  ammunition  wagons 
over  first,  then  each  regiment,  in  its  turn.  But  a  letter  in  the 
writer's  hands,  written  the  following  day  by  Lieutenant  Reed, 
reveals  the  fact  that  favoritism  was  shown  there,  as  it  so  often 
was  in  the  army.  He  says  he  discovered  that  Captain  Ber- 
tram was  sending  the  members  of  his  company  and  regiment 
over,  on  one  pretense  or  antjther,  as  fast  as  they  came  to  him, 
so  Reed  sent  quietly  for  the  members  of  his  company  and 
passed  them  all  over  and,  after  that,  passed  any  member  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  over  who  offered  to  go. 

It  was  late  on  the  morning  of  May  20,  when  the  body  of 
the  Twenty  seventh  was  ferried  across.  The  writer  crossed 
in  the  load  with  Colonel  Colgrove.  The  night,  on  whichever 
side  of  the  river  it  was  passed,  was  very  cold.  The  writer  is 
willing  to  put  it  down  in  black  and  white  that,  all  in  all,  it 
was  the  most  thoroughly  uncomfortable  night,  if  not  the  one 
of  the  most  intense  sufTering,  he  has  ever  seen  in  the  flesh. 
Utterly  exhausted,  apparently  not  able  to  take  another  step, 
every  joint,  muscle  and  tendon  in  his  body  as  sore  as  a  blood- 
boil,  an  inordinate,  sickening  craving  for  food,  too  much  over- 
come with  sleepiness  to  be  able  to  stay  awake,  even  when 
standing  up,  or  moving  around,  seeminoly  on  the  very  point 
of  freezing  to  death,  and  withal,  low-spirited  and  discouraged, 
what  could  add  to  one's  misery?  One  individual  would  not 
matter,  but  if  any  soldier  of  the  Twenty-seventli,  or  any  other 
regiment,  was  in  any  better  plight,  liis  case  v  as  an  exception. 
A  person  who  passes  through  one  such  experience  in  a  lite- 
time  and  lives  to  see  the  end,  will  surely  see  voine  happiness 
and  be  able  to  thank  God,  in  tlic  midst  of  any  of  life's  vicis  i- 
tudes  thereafter. 

But  this  terrible  nigiit  had  an  end;  so  diil  our  awful,  con- 
suming hunger;  so  did  our  pitiable  weariness  ami  longing  tor 
sleep  and  rest.  When  the  Twenty-.'-e\  cnth  was  at  length  over, 
we  did  not  fall  in  and  march,  we    only   followed    the   Colonel 


156  HISTORY    OF    THE 

and  dragged  ourselves  along,  to  a  fine  grove,  half  a  mile  back  of 
the  village  of  Williams  port.  Soon  the  wagons  came  up  with 
rations  and  tents.  After  a  good  square  meal,  the  first  for 
sixty  hours,  we  were  ready  for  sleep.  As  for  that,  we  did  lit- 
tle else  for  two  or  three  days. 

The  first  duty  after  a  battle  is  to  ascertain  who  is  killed, 
wounded  or  missing.  In  this  instance  it  required  considerable 
time  to  do  this.  Men  failed  to  report  at  all  who  had  not  been 
missed  until  search  was  instituted  for  them,  and  some  event- 
ually came  in  who  had  early  been  given  up  as  lost.  The  story 
that  most  had  to  tell  was  brief  and  straightforward,  while 
the  adventures  and  hair  breadth  escapes  of  others  were  quite 
inarvelous.  In  some  instances  we  could  not  help  but  wonder 
whether  the  reports  were  strictly  true,  in  all  respects  !  Never- 
theless we  hailed  the  return  of  any  and  all  \vith  unaffected 
delight. 

The  largest,  and  perhaps  the  most  unexpected  band  to  re- 
port was  the  detail  before  alluded  to  as  being  on  guard  over 
the  commissary  store  at  Cedar  Creek.  When  we  saw  the  re- 
sults of  the  enemy  breaking  into  our  column,  south  of  New- 
town, and  heard  through  General  Hatch  that  the  Rebel  army 
was  between  us  and  the  rear  of  our  train,  in  force,  we  at  once 
abandoned  all  hope  of  their  escape.  We  did  not  fully  under- 
stand their  metal. 

The  detail  was  in  charge  of  Lieutenants  VanArsdol,  of 
Company  A,  and  Lee,  of  Company  C.  Which  was  con- 
sidered in  cominand  does  not  appear.  It  would  seem  that 
they  exercised  about  equal  authority  and  united  their,  ef- 
forts harmoniously  for  the  common  good.  It  is  a  serious  loss 
to  this  narrative  that  fuller  details  of  the  plucky  and  successful 
service  rendered  by  these  two  young  officers,  and  the  splendid 
discipline  and  remarkable  endurance  of  the  men  under  them, 
can  not  be  here  set  out.  To  give  the  exact  number  of  men  is 
impossible,  much  less  their  names.  One  of  the  multiplied  evi- 
dences that  the  members  of  the  Twenty-s-eventh  were  not  in 
the  army  for  glory  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  neither  of 
these  othcers  thought  it  necessary  to  inflict  a  written  official 
report  upon  some  one.  Other  officers  who  did  nothing  but  run 
away,  or  stop  and  get  captured,  took  occasion  to  rush  into 
print  afterward,  through  the  medium  of  an  official  report. 
Both  of  tliese  competent,  promising  young  men  were  killed  at 
Antietam.    Lieutenant  Lee  had  abandoned  his  bouks  and  class 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


157 


ties  at  Asbury  University    to   carry   a   musket  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  and  had  done  so,  until   given  a  commission. 

It  is  understood  that  the  experiences  of  the  men  from  our 
regiment  were  simihir  to  those  of  Banks'  body  guard,  under 
Captain  Collis.  He  reports  :  "  I  brought  with  me  two  lieu- 
tenants and  fifty  men,  of  various  regiments,  who  had  been 
guarding  the  commissary  stores."  Our  men  were  not  with 
Captain  Collis  the  whole  way,  however,  and,  aside  from  the 
matter  of  r:ink,  thev  had  as  much  to   do  with  bringing  him  as 


1st  Lieut.  Jacob  A.  Lee,  Co.  C. 

(Killed  at  Antietam.) 


1st  Lieut.  O.  P.  Fukguson, 
Co.  C. 


he  them,  if  not  more.  Lieutenant  VanArsdol,  in  particular, 
had  been  in  this  region  before,  and  had  some  knowledge  of 
the  general  lay  of  the  country  and  manv  of  the  particular 
roads.  His  services  were,  therefore,  invaluable.  In  addition 
to  this,  Lee  and  himself  properly  considered  that  they  were 
especially  responsible  for  the  wagons  and  their  freightage. 
At  one  important  juncture  they  and  their  men  were,  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  the  only  soldiers  with  the  wagons.  Captain 
Collis  had  decided  to  abandon  the  train  entirely,  but  our  faith- 
ful men  refused  to  do  so,  and  later  on  encountered,  Collis  and 
those  with   him,  again. 

When  this  detail  found  themselves  cut  off  at  Cedar  creek 
they  promptly  took  the  other  end  of  the  road  and  moved  back 


158  HISTORY    OF    THE 

to  Strasburg.  There  they  decided  to  make  an  energetic  effort 
to  rejoin  Banks'  main  column  by  a  circuitous  route  to  the 
westward.  They  started  from  Strasburg  a  little  before  dark, 
and  hoped,  by  great  exertion  and  an  all-night's  march,  to  pass 
around  the  rebel  army  and  overtake  us  at  Winchester.  But 
on  nearing  the  pike  between  Newtown  and  Winchester,  near 
daylight,  their  advance  scouts  found  the  rebels  occupying  it. 
Countermarching  hastily,  and  making  another  detour,  they 
were  approaching  Winchester  from  the  west,  only  to  find  that 
they  were  again  too  late.  Another  prolonged  effort  to  reach 
the  main  column,  at  or  near  Martinsburg,  met  with  the  same 
disheartening  result.  But,  not  to  be  outdone,  our  heroic  men 
decided  to  make  one  more  supreme  and  independent  strike 
for  liberty.  So  they  took  a  course  for  the  upper  Potomac, 
and  eventually  forded  that  river  at  Hancock,  under  very  yen 
turesome  and  threatening  circumstances. 

The  entire  distance  traveled  was  about  one  hundred  miles, 
almost  wholly  without  sleep  or  rest,  and  with  scanty  food. 
Frequently  they  cut  across  the  country  on  blind,  neglected 
roads,  and  once,  at  least,  for  a  considerable  space,  they  -were 
obliged  to  abandon  all  roads,  and  with  the  train  travel  over 
fields  and  through  woods.  These  expedients  were  rendered 
necessary  to  avoid  contact  with  the  enemy,  which  they  missed 
several  times  by  a  very  narrow  margin.  In  some  of  their  cut- 
offs they  were  warned  and  piloted  by  loyal  citizens. 

The  physical  endurance,  as  well  as  the  courage  and  daring 
of  this  party  was  remarkable.  Added  to  the  extreme  and  pro- 
longed exertions  and  other  deprivations  required  of  them, 
most  of  the  men  did  not  have  a  moment  of  sleep  for  more 
than  seventy-two  hours.  After  they  had  rejoined  the  regi- 
ment the  writer  saw  a  member  of  the  party  with  blood  oozing 
out  between  the  soles  and  uppers  of  his  brogans.  From  Han- 
cock to  Williamsport  they  had  transportation  on  a  scow,  by 
canal. 

To  conclude  this  inadequate  accoimt,  furnishing  an 
example  of  the  kind  of  men  we  had  in  the  Twenty-seventh, 
an  extract  is  submitted  from  Quartermaster  Sergeant  Grose's 
letter  to  the  Indianapolis  ^()z/r//a/:  "The  facts  are  as  fol- 
lows, which  can  be  established  by  General  Banks'  own  private 
memorandum,  now  in  possession  of  Lieutenants  LeeandVan- 
Arsdol,  also  by  plenty  of  witnesses  :  The  day  after  Gaptain 
Collis  and  his  men  departed  for  Williamsport,  Lieuts.  J.  A. 


T\VEXTY-SEVEXTlt     IXDIAN'A. 


159 


Lee  and  William  VanArsdol,  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana, 
with  their  '  few  stragglers,'  a  body  of  infantry,  aggregating 
more  than  Captain  Collis'  company,  discovered  those  fine 
arms,  224  Springfield  rifles,  that  had  been  secreted  sometime 
before,  by  the  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Pennsylvania,  put 
them  on  a  can  il  boat  and  delivered  them  at  General  Banks' 
headquarters  at  W'illiamsport." 

The  loss  of  tlie  Twenty-seventh  at  Winchester  was: 
Killed  and  mortally  wounded,  5;  wounded,  not  mortal,  31. 
and  G'2  prisoners.      (See  Honor  Roll.) 


Capt.  David   Van   Buskiuk, 
Co.  F. 


M.  Caiin. 

(The  old  Sutler.) 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  BATTLE  SINCE  WINXHESTER. 

There  is  one  matter  relating  to  the  Twenty-seventh  at 
Winchester  that  remains  to  be  noticed.  The  writer  does  not 
at  this  time  attach  great  importance  to  it,  but  it  is  probably  a 
necessary  part  of  this  narrative. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  member  of  the  regiment  crossed 
the  Potomac,  after  Banks'  retreat,  in  a  very  highly  satisfied 
state  of  mind,  either  with  reference  to  himself  or  his  environ- 
ment. The  dismal  ending  of  the  campaign,  upon  which  we 
had  so  recently  entered  with  such  high  hopes,  could  not  be 
otherwise  than  soreh^  disappointing,  while  the  fact  that,  in 
our  first  engagement  with  the  enem}-,  something  that  we  had 
long  been  eager  for,  we  had  had  such  an  unequal  and  dis- 
advantageous opportunity,  either  to  do  ourselves  justice  or 
to  accomplish  anything  for  the  cause  so  near  to  our  hearts, 
was  as  gall  and  wormwood. 

But  Twenty-seventh  soldiers  were,  as  a  rule,  disposed  to 
take  things  philosophically.  Our  recent  reverses  were 
regarded  as  illustrative  of  the  fortunes  of  war,  and  there  was 
not  a  doubt  in  the  mind  of  anyone  but  that  they  would  be 
speedily  avenged.  As  to  ourselves,  it  did  not  occur  to  us 
either  to  glory  excessively,  or  to  repine  dolefully.  We  were 
too  cool,  both  during  the  action  and  afterward,  to  be  carried 
away  with  the  delusion  that  we  had  accomplished  anything 
very  great,  and  we  were  too  well  informed  to  believe  that  we 
had  any  reason  to  blush.  As  to  others,  the  Twenty-seventh 
had  seen  much  to  admire,  and  very  little  of  a  contrary  nature. 
Particularly,  there  was  no  disposition  to  criticise  and  dis- 
parage other  organizations.  The  writer  will  be  responsible 
for  the  statement  that  the  Twenty-seventh  was  never  much 
given  to  that  species  of  villainy.  Throughout  tliis  retreat  we 
had  witnessed  most  that  was  done  or  attempted  by  the  infan- 
try, from  the  start  at  Strasburg  to  the  finish  at  Williamsport. 
What  we  had  not  seen  we  became  quite  clearly  advised  of 
through  others.     Almost  all  of  it  tended  to  increase  our  con.- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  ICl 

fidence  in  our  troops,  and  beget  in  us  a  feeling  of  comrade- 
ship toward  them.  While  now  and  then  individuals  had 
shown  the  white  feather  (some  of  our  own  number  being 
among  them),  no  command,  as  such,  had,  as  far  as  we  knew, 
come  short  in  any  material  respect. 

What  was  our  surprise,  therefore,  when  the  published 
accounts  of  recent  events,  particularly  of  the  battle  of  Win- 
chester, began  to  appear,  not  only  to  find  others  unduly 
lauded  for  the  part  they  had  taken,  but  given  credit  also  for 
what  we  had  done  ourselves  ;  and  to  find  our  own  regiment 
not  only  denied  all  recognition  or  praise  for  what  it  had 
accomplished,  but  really  blamed  for  the  entire  disaster  1  These 
things  were  not  true  of  all  accounts,  of  course,  but  in  one  or 
more  prominent  Eastern  newspaper  it  was  stated  that  the 
Twenty-seventh  Indiana  had  abandoned  its  position  at  Win- 
chester without  orders,  and  the  wording  was  such  as  to  con- 
vey the  impression  that  that  was  the  reason  why  our  side  lost 
the  battle.  To  make  matters  worse,  it  transpired  soon  that 
the  nominal  author  of  these  slanderous  statements  was  a  cor- 
respondent of  certain  copperhead  newspapers,  who  resorted  at 
our  brigade  headquarters,  and  who  at  once  disclaimed  all  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  the  facts,  having  obtained  them  from  our 
brigade  commander  and  those  associated  with  him. 

That  such  a  situation  as  the  foregoing  would  not  arouse 
intense,  almost  uncontrollable,  indignation  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  was  not  to  be  expected.  Two  hundred  pounds  pressure 
to  the  square  inch  was  registered  forthwith.  A  complete 
record  of  the  period  would  disclose  the  fact  that  some  violent, 
disrespectful  language  was  used  at  this  time,  accompanied  by 
threats  of  armed  raids  upon  certain  headquarters,  shots  to  be 
fired  while  on  the  march,  or  engaged  in  battle,  but  aimed  at  a 
certain  officer  of  rank,  staff  officials,  newspaper  correspond- 
ents, etc.,  etc.,  some  of  which,  if  carried  into  execution, 
would  have  been  more  inexcusable  in  form  than  in  fact.  The 
prevailing  sentiment  of  the  regiment,  however,  was  dicidedly 
against  such  things  and  they  were  frowned  upon  whenever 
they  manifested  themselves. 

The  duty  of  enquiring  into  this  grievance  and  doing  what 
was  necessary  to  secure  the  withdrawl  of  the  offensive  and 
unfounded  statements,  or  of  disapproving  them,  devolved,  at 
length,  upon  our  colonel  and  lieutenant-colonel.  Both  of 
them  were  vitally  interested,  especially  the  latter,  as  he  had 


162  HISTORY    OF    THE 

communicated  tlie  order  to  the  Twenty-seventh,  which  resulted 
in  the  move,  said  to  have  been  made  without  orders. 

It  was  understood  in  the  regiment  at  the  time  that  Gor- 
'don  and  others  were  promptly  interviewed  by  our  two  officers 
and  the  further  understanding  soon  became  current  that  a 
satisfactory  adjustment  had  been  easily  arrived  at.  The  cor- 
respondent  who  had  written  the  scandulous  dispatches  readily 
agreed  to  correct  them  in  subsequent  dispatches,  and  Gordon 
and  his  staff  professed  to  have  seen  a  new  light.  The  charge  of 
jnoving  without  orders,  and  all  charges  of  misconduct  were 
•to  be  withdrawn  and  not  repeated  again.  Some  sort  of  correc- 
tion or  apology  did  appear  in  one  or  more  of  the  papers 
that  had  published  the  first  dispatches  ;  Gordon  just  then  was 
relieved  of  his  command,  and  sent  back  to  his  regiment,  and 
interest  upon  the  subject  gradually  died  out. 

It  has  only  been  in  more  recent  years  that  the  survivors 
of  the  Twenty-seventh  became  aware  that  the  terms  of  this 
.adjustment  were  never  really  observed  by  General  Gordon, 
•and  that,  after  the  war  closed,  he  repeated  his  former  false- 
hoods himself,  in  more  positive,  and,  if  possible,  more  offensive 
•forms  than  formerly.  In  fact,  it  is  not  certain  how  far  he 
really  assented  to  the  adjustment  mentioned  above,  in  the  first 
place,  though  it  does  seem  certain  that  he  did  not  intend  to  be 
sincere  or  honest  in  anything  he  said  in  the  premises. 

The  writer  feels  himself  justified  in  expressing  his  sore 
disappointment,  not  to  say  humiliation,  over  some  of  the  facts 
developed  in  this  connection.  It  appears  that  a  temporary 
miff  or  estrangement  existed  between  Colonel  Colgrove  and 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Morrison.  This  was  permitted  to  inter- 
'.  fere,  and  prevented  them  from  standing  close  together  and 
Uovally  supporting  each  other,  as  every  consideration  of  their 
V>wn,  as  well  as  that  of  the  organization  they  represented, 
demanded.  One  did  not  always  hear  what  was  said  to  the 
other,  which  gave  Gordon  an  opportunity  for  double-dealing, 
and  left  each  of  our  officers  with  a  vague,  indefinite  and  some- 
what different  understanding  of  what  really  was  said  or 
.agreed  to. 

To  Colonel  Colgrove,  Gordon  and  those  about  him,  while 
-apparently  affable  and  conciliatory,  repudiated  all  responsi- 
bility for  the  withdrawal  at  Winchester.  The  staff  officer 
who  brought  the  order  to  Colonel  Morrison  denied  having 
done   so.     As  to   what  further  they  said,    and  in  what  terms 


TWENTV- SEVENTH    INDIANA.  163 

they  expressed  themselves,  the  writer  is  not  advised,  except 
that  Colonel  Colgrove  evidently  understood  Gordon  to  be  per- 
fectly willing,  and  even  glad,  to  exonerate  the  Twenty-seventh 
from  all  blame,  and  that  he  was  very  sorry  that,  for  a  time,  he 
had  entertained  a  contrary  opinion.  And  so  on  and  so  forth  ; 
Gordon  could  always  talk !  It  is  not  easy  to  see,  however, 
how  he  could  say  less  than  this,  especially  face  to  face  with 
Colonel  Colgrove.  When  the  latter  definitely  assumed  the 
responsibility  for  the  order  to  withdraw,  by  stating  that  he 
had,  on  the  authority  of  Colonel  Morrison,  repeated  it  to  the 
Twenty-seventh  himself,  what  else  could  Gordon  say? 

This  was  the  condition,  then,  in  which  the  matter  was 
allowed  to  rest,  as  far  as  Colonel  Colgrove  was  concerned. 
Nothing  was  written  down;  no  witnesses  in  sympathy  with 
the  Twenty-seventh  seem  to  have  been  present,  and  few  defi- 
nite categorical  statements  are  remembered.  No  order  to 
withdraw,  or  change  positions  from  in  front  of  the  hill  to  the 
rear  of  it  had  emanated  from  brigade  headquarters,  during  the 
battle  of  Winchester,  But  if  Colonel  Morrison  had  repre- 
sented to  Colonel  Colgrove  that  there  was  such  an  order,  and 
the  latter  had  repeated  it  to  his  regiment,  he  was  not  to  blame, 
and  no  more  was  the  regiment  to  blame. 

Whether  or  not  Colonel  Colgrove  said  or  did  anything  to 
extricate  his  lieutenant-colonel  from  such  an  embarrassing  and 
discreditable  position  as  this  put  him  into,  is  not  in  evidence.  If 
he  lost  much  sleep  over  the  matter  the  fact  has  been  withheld 
from  the  public. 

In  a  letter  to  the  writer,  dated  in  1890,  Colonel  Morrison 
says,  Captain  Scott,  of  Gordon's  staff,  brought  him  the  order  to 
withdraw  the  Twenty-seventh  from  its  position  along  the  old 
fence  at  Winchester,  saying  that  a  new  line  was  to  be  formed 
behindthe  hill.  Colonel  Morrison  says  he  gave  the  order  direct- 
ly to  the  regiment,  because  Colonel  Colgrove  was  temporarily 
absent,  and  he  supposed  himself  to  be  in  command.  He  alleges 
that  Captain  Scott  was  not  more  than  thirty  feet  from  him 
when  the  order  was  given,  that  being  as  near  as  he  could  ride 
because  of  obstructions.  All  these  facts,  he  says,  he  was  able 
to  prove  at  the  time  of  writing.  He  stated,  moreover,  that 
he  was  not  aware  until  recent  years  that  Gordon  or  his  staff 
had  ever  denied  their  relation  to  the  order  in  question.  They 
never  denied  it  in  his  presence,  nor  to  any  one  who  reported 
their    denial  to    him.     What    Gordon    and   his   staff  did    do, 


164  HISTORY    OF    THE 

when  he  had  a  conference  with  them,  was  to  ask  him  if 
Colonel  Colgrove  was  really  absent  from  the  Twenty-seventh 
when  the  order  was  delivered  to  him  and  inveigh  bitterly 
against  Colgrove  for  being  absent.  On  this  point  Gordon  pre- 
tended that  it  was  only  in  defference  to  Colonel  Morrison's 
wishes,  in  fact,  at  his  earnest  solicitation,  that  Colonel  Col- 
grove was  not  court  martialed  for  his  offense  in  the  case. 

All  this  has  the  appearance  to  the  writer  of  palpable,  in- 
tentional fraud  on  Gordon's  part.  He  was  taking  shrewd 
advantage  of  the  relations  existing  between  our  colonel  and 
lieutenant-colonel  and  was  dealing  in  glittering  generalities 
and  unmeaning  statements,  in  order  to  stave  off  and  cover  up 
the  real  issue.  More  is  the  pity,  he  seems  to  have  succeeded. 
Each  of  our  officers  seem  to  have  thought  that  they  had  him 
solid  on  their  side,  and  that,  therefore,  he  could  be  trusted  to 
do  the  rest.  Whether  or  not  they  are  now  satisfied  with  the 
result,  they  have  themselves  to  thank  for  it,  at  least  in  part. 

In  his  official  report  of  the  battle  of  Winchester,  Gordon, 
although  he  does  not  observe  the  assurances  that  Colonel 
Colgrove  understood  him  to  give,  still  seems  to  reflect  them.* 
As  compared  with  his  subsequent  statements  concerning  the 
Twenty-seventh  those  in  his  report  are  mild,  and,  when 
clearly  understood,  not  really  damaging.  The  part  of  his 
report  bearing  upon  the  present  contention  is  as  follows  : 
"At  about  6:30,  perhaps  nearer  7  a.  m.,  large  bodies  of  in- 
fantry could  be  seen  making  their  way  in  line  of  battle  to- 
ward my  right.  They  moved  under  cover  of  the  dense  wood, 
thus  concealing  somewhat  their  numbers.  I  directed  the 
Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Colonel  Murphy,  and 
the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  Regiment,  Colonel  Colgrove,  to 
change  position  from  the  left  to  the  right  of  the  line.  *  *  * 
This  movement  I  had  hardly  completed,  despite  a  new  bat- 
tery which  opened  upon  my  line,  when  three  large  battalions 
of  infantry,  moving  in  order  of  battle,  came  out  from  their 
cover  and  approached  my  brigade.  They  were  received  with 
a  destructive  fire  of  musketry,  poured  in  from  all  points  of  my 
line  that  could  reach  them.  Confident  in  their  numbers,  and 
relying  upon  larger  sustaining  bodies  (suspicion  of  which  be- 
hind the  covering  timbers  in  our  front  were  surely  confirmed), 
the  enemy's  line  moved  on  but  little  shaken  by  our  fire."     In 


*  Evidences  of   a  compromise   on  these  points  are  clearly  tracable  in  the  reports  of 
Colgrove,  Gordon  and  Banks. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  165 

the  lines,  above  quoted,  Gordon  refers  wholly  to  the  Twenty- 
ninth  Pennsylvania  and  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  and  to  the 
flanking  column  of  the  enemy  which  was  to  confront  these 
two  regiments  and  be  alone  confronted  by  them.  But  to  un- 
derstand these  lines  the  better  a  few  others  must  be  quoted. 
Gordon  continues  :  "  At  the  same  time,  in  our  front  (that  is, 
in  front  of  the  Third  Wisconsin  and  Second  Massachusetts), 
a  long  line  of  infantry  showed  themselves,  rising  the  crest  of 
the  hills  just  beyond  our  position.  My  little  brigade,  num- 
bering in  all  just  2,102,  in  another  moment  would  have  been 
overwhelmed.  On  its  right,  left  and  center  immensely  supe- 
rior columns  were  pressing.  Not  another  man  was  availa- 
ble ;  not  a  support  in  the  remnant  of  his  army  corps  left  Gen- 
eral Banks.  To  withdraw  was  now  possible;  in  another 
moment  it  would  be  too  late.  At  this  moment  I  should  have 
assumed  the  responsibility  of  requesting  permission  to  with- 
draw, but  the  right  fell  back  under  great  pressure."* 

It  is  remarkable  how  Gordon  could  use  so  many  words 
in  his  reports  and  yet  say  so  little.  In  the  wagon  load  or 
more  of  reports  made  by  others  during  the  war,  there  are  none 
like  his,  either  in  the  unnecessary  space  occupied  or  in  sheer 
lack  of  clearness.  In  this  report,  as  in  others,  he  undoubtedly 
studied  to  have  his  statements  misleading.  When  Gordon 
says  :  "  Three  large  battalions  of  infantry,  moving  in  order  of 
battle,  came  out  from  their  cover  and  approached  my  brigade," 
it  must  be  understood  that  it  was  the  position  occupied  solely 
by  the  Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  and  Twenty-seventh  Indi- 
ana, that  these  regiments  approached.  He  could  easily  have 
said  that,  had  he  chosen  to  do  so.  He  chose  rather  to  say  : 
*'  My  brigade,"  leaving  it  indefinite  as  to  what  part  of  his  line 
they  approached.  And  so,  when  he  says:  "They  were 
received  with  a  destructive  fire  of  musketry,  poured  in  from 
all  parts  of  my  line  that  could  reach  them,"  it  must  be  under- 
stood that  it  was  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana,  almost  alone, 
that  "poured  in"  such  a  "destructive  fire  of  musketry." 
Gordon  could  easily  have  said  that  also  if  he  had  desired.  The 
Twenty-ninth  Pennsylvania  did  not  get  into  its  position  in 
time  to  "  pour  in  "  much  of  a  fire  and  the  other  two  regiments, 
besides  being  too  far  away,  had  enough  else  to  attend  to. 
More  than  this,  there  were  four  regiments  in  the  advancing 
rebel  column,  instead  of  three,  as  Gordon  here  states.     If  these 

*See  Gordon's  Official  Report,  Records  of  the  RebellioD. 


166  HISTORY    OK    THK 

facts  had  been  clearly  stated  in  his  report,  so  as  to  be  under- 
stood, it  would  have  been  no  reproach  to  the  regiments  con- 
cerned that  they  moved  to  the  rear,  especially  when  they  were 
ordered  to  do  so  by  their  commanding  officers.  Even  if  it 
was  a  mistake  (which  it  was  not)  that  such  an  order  had  been 
promulgated  bv  those  higher  in  authority  than  regimental 
commanders,  the  regiments  themselves  would  not  be  to 
blame. 

But  in  his  book,  "  Brook  Farm  to  Cedar  Mountain  "  (the 
substance  of  which  was  also  read  before  the  Officers'  Association 
of  the  Second  Massachusetts,  and  subsequently  published  as  a 
part  of  the  historv  of  that  regiment,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Sec- 
ond Massachusetts  and  Stonewall  Jackson  "),  Gordon  throws 
off  his  mask  entirely  and  returns  to  his  former  charges,  this  time 
repeating  them  himself.  Why  he  does  so  it  is  mipossible  to 
conjecture,  except  upon  the  theory  that  ''  Blood  will  tell." 
The  truth  would  surely  seem  to  have  suited  his  purpose 
far  better.  He  was  laboring  solely  in  the  interest  of  his  own 
vanity  and,  under  the  circumstances  that  he  portrays,  which 
were  substantially  true,  it  would  certainly  appear  that  the 
order  which  he  gave  to  a  part  of  his  brigade  to  move  to  a  more 
advantageous  position  during  the  battle  at  Winchester,  was 
greatly  to  his  credit. 

Yet,  in  this  book,  he  not  only  denies  or  ignores  the  fact 
of  such  an  order  being  given  and  says  "  Jackson  saw  the 
Twenty-ninth  and  Twenty-seventh,  of  my  brigade,  break  into 
disorder  and  begin  to  fall  to  the  rear,"  *  but  goes  out  of  his 
way  to  discredit  the  rebel  account  (not  our  account,  not  some 
partial  friend  of  the  Twenty-seventh's  account,  mind  you ! 
but  the  rebel  account)  of  the  effectiveness  of  our  fire  into  the 
rebel  lines.!  The  climax  of  his  conglomerate,  unintelligible  and 
self-contradictory  sentences  on  this  subject  are  the  following  : 
"A  delay  of  a  few  minutes  from  the  time  the  Twenty-ninth 
Pennsylvania  and  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  broke  to  the  rear 
from  the  right  would  have  caused  our  capture  or  destruction. 
It  was  officially  reported  that  an  order  to  these  regiments  to 
fall  back  was  given  ;  I  feel  sure  that  none  was  given,  but  in 
view  of  the  results,  I  can  not  condemn  the  want  of  discipline 
that  caused  it."t 


♦Second  Miissachusetts  and  S.  J.,  p.  125. 
tSame,  p.  125. 
tSaiue,  p.  127. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  1-67 

What  was  the  man  trying  to  say,  anyhow?  Does  he 
mean  that,  what  he  represents  as  the  disreputable  conduct  of 
the  two  regiments,  was  the  only  wise  and  timely  thing  that 
occuired  at  that  supremely  critical  moment?  Does  he  mean 
then  to  insist  that  what  they  did  was  without  orders,  even 
from  their  own  commanding  officers?  He  refers  to  General 
Banks,  in  a  foot  note,  as  his  authority  for  saying  "  it  was  re- 
ported that  an  order  to  withdraw  had  been  given."  Banks 
did  not  say  any  such  thing.  What  Banks  did  say  was,  that 
the  move  was  made  "  under  the  erroneous  impression  that  an 
order  to  withdraw  had  been  given."*  Banks  was  sufficiently 
high-minded  and  just  to  gi\e  the  regimental  officers  the  credit 
of  having  acted  in  good  faith.  Inasmuch  as  Gordon  speaks  of 
a  "  want  of  cliscipline  "  causing  the  movement,  it  must  be  that 
he  meant  to  deny  this  to  the  regimental  officers.  No  one  knew 
better  than  Gordon  that  it  could  not  be  a  "want  of  discipline" 
in  troops  to  move  in  obedience  to  the  order  of  their  regimental 
officers  or  in  the  regimental  officers  themselves  to  give  such  an 
order  upon  definite  information,  coming  through  a  proper 
channel,  that  it  was  the  order  from  brigade  headquarters. 

But,  what  is  the  real  point  at  issue  here?  Is  it  not  as  to 
whether  Colonel  Morrison  received  an  order  to  move  the 
Twenty-seventh  to  the  rear  during  the  engagement  at  Win- 
chester and  was  therefore  justified  in  giving  such  an  order  to 
the  regiment,  and  the  regiment  was  wholly  justified  in  obey- 
ing the  order,  or  whether  he  acted  without  such  authority  and 
was  therefore  guilty  of  a  shameful  blunder  and  a  gross  military 
offense?  Was  not  that  in  reality,  the  only  question  at  issue 
from  the  start?  Who  could  see  that  more  plainly  than  Gor- 
don, or  CO  prehend  it  more  fully?  And,  this  being  the  case, 
who  can  think  for  a  moment  that  if  no  such  order  had  eman- 
ated from  brigade  headquarters,  and  that  Colonel  Morrison 
had  been  guilty  of  imagining  or  manufacturing  such  an  order, 
the  matter  would  have  been  allowed  to  take  the  course  it  has? 
No,  the  incontrovertible  facts  are  just  as  they  have  been  stated 
in  this  narrative,  and  as  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  have  all  along  known  them  to  be.  Colonel  Morrison 
was  and  is  a  bfave,  level-headed,  truthful  man  and,  in  addition 
to  that,  he  had  an  abundance  of  competent  eye-witnesses  to 
support  all  of  his  allegations.  He  received  the  order  to  with- 
draw the  Twenty-seventh   from  a  member  of  Gorilon's  staff,, 

♦Banks'  report. 


168  HISTORY    OF    THE 

precisely  as  he  claimed  he  did.  This  calumny  of  Gordon  and 
his  CO  adjutors  was  wholly  an  afterthought.  It  was  a  short- 
sighted conspiracy  that  they  had  hatched  up  after  reaching 
Williamsport  to  shield  themselves  from  what  they  foolishly 
thought  they  might  be  blamed  for,  when  in  truth,  it  was  to 
their  credit. 

The  retreat  of  General  Banks  caused  no  little  excitement 
and  dismay  in  the  North,  particularly  in  Massachusetts.  Gov- 
ernor Andrew,  of  that  State,  issued  a  flaming  proclamation, 
before  Banks'  army  was  across  the  Potomac,  calling  out  the 
State  Militia  and  calling  upon  the  people  generally  to  rally 
to  the  defense  of  the  country.  The  newspapers  were  heavy 
with  inflammatory  editorials.  Much  of  this  was  of  the  nature 
of  fault  finding.  Somebody  was  to  blame.  At  this  period  of 
the  war,  if  not  on  to  the  end,  the  highest  military  talent  of 
the  country  (in  its  own  estimation)  was  far  in  the  rear  of  the 
armv.  Successes  and  reverses  at  the  front  were  largely  esti- 
mated by  the  amount  of  territory  gained  or  lost.  To  retreat, 
therefore,  was  a  grevious  failure  in  their  view. 

When  this  pressure  began  to  come  upon  Gordon  and  his 
advisers,  it  stampeded  them.  They  were  not  military  men 
enough,  or  they  were  too  much  lacking  in  moral  courage,  to 
stand  by  their  guns.  In  that  they  missed  the  opportunity  of 
their  live<i.  Gordon,  in  some  respects,  was  heroic  and  com- 
petent on  the  Winchester  retreat.  His  energy  knew  no 
bounds.  Almost  alone  among  those  occupying  stations  as 
high  as  his,  he  was  indefatigable  and  tireless.  Much  that  he 
did  was  wise  and  timely.  His  order  to  the  Twenty-ninth 
Pennsylvania  and  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  to  change  position 
to  the  rear  of  the  hill,  was  of  all  things  the  right  one  to  give 
under  the  circumstances.  If,  in  his  mind,  it  involved  the 
matter  of  a  final  withdrawal  from  the  field,  it  was  all  the  bet- 
ter. It  proved  that  he  had  in  him  some  of  the  elements  of 
a  commander  of  troops.  It  would  seem,  too,  that  he  was 
justly  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  such  a  thought  in  mind 
All  along,  from  the  first  attack  of  the  enemy  at  Front  Royal, 
he  had  contended  that  the  thing  to  do  was  to  get  out  of  Jack- 
son's way.  If,  therefore,  he  promulgated  an  order  at  this 
crisis,  looking  to  a  prompt  evacuation  of  Winchester,  it 
showed  that  he  was  the  only  one  present  that  day,  and  high  in 
author  ty,    who  was  able  to  rise  to  the  occasion. 

But  at  Williamsport  Gordon  weakened.    Before  the  storm 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  169 

of  adverse  criticism  and  condemnation  that  swept  down  from 
New  England  he  made  haste  to  find  cover.  He  dared  not  face 
Governor  Andrew  and  the  Boston  public  and  say  manfully  : 
^' Yes,  I  ordered  the  retrograde  movement  at  Winchester.  I 
claim  the  glory  of  it ;  it  was  all  that  saved  Banks'  army  ;  and, 
the  army  being  saved,  little  else  of  permanent  value  has  been 
lost." 

Just  here  Gordon  himself  furnishes  a  suggestion.  The 
old  adage  says  "  Set  a  thief  to  catch  a  thief!"  Gordon  accuses 
Banks,  in  this  same  connection,  of  offering  a  propitiatory  sac- 
rifice to  this  indignant  public  sentiment.  He  says  Banks  off"ered 
up  his  assistant  adjutant-general.  In  like  manner,  Gordon 
offered  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana.  That  is  the  whole  truth 
of  the  matter,  in  a  nut-shell. 

Some  years  ago,  as  related  to  the  writer  by  one  of  those 
concerned,  three  railroad  freight  trains,  or  rather  one  train 
running  in  three  sections,  were  dispatched  from  a  western 
city.  When  about  half  way  to  their  destination  one  of  these 
trains  ran  into  another  one  and  both  were  immediately  piled 
up  in  a  shapeless  and  almost  worthless  mass,  at  the  side  of  the 
track.  The  real  cause  of  the  disaster  was  whiskey.  In  the 
cab  of  one  of  the  locomotives  had  been  a  jug,  out  of  which 
most  of  the  men  helped  themselves  until  they  were  drunk  as 
lords.  But  the  crash  of  the  collision  awoke  them  to  their 
senses,  and  the  gravity  of  the  situation  was  at  once  apparent 
to  all.  They  foresaw  the  impending  wrath  of  the  railroad 
officials  and  realized  that  it  meant  permanent  loss  of  position 
to  all  concerned,  if  nothing  more.  What  did  they  do?  They 
assembled  themselves  there,  on  the  railroad  embankment,  and 
agreed  upon  a  story,  accounting  for  the  wreck  in  a  different 
way  from  that  in  which  it  really  occurred  ;  and  they  drilled 
themselves  in  it,  and  safeguarded  every  point,  until  those  over 
them  in  the  management  of  the  railroad  never  succeeded  in 
breaking  through  their  disguise. 

Who  that  has  studied  the  history  of  the  Civil  war,  or  of 
any  war,  will  believe  that  similar  things  are  not  frequently 
done  in  war  time,  by  various  parties  from  various  motives.? 
This  case  of  Gordon  and  his  friends,  in  their  relation  to  the 
battle  of  Winchester,  is  a  case  in  point.  Unlike  the  railroad 
men,  they  had  no  reason  for  conspiring  to  falsify  the  facts, 
but  they  thought  they  had  at  the  time.  Unlike  the  railroad 
men,  too,  they  were  not  so  successful  in  perpetrating  a  fraud. 


170 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


Their  disguise  was  easily  broken  into.  From  the  outset  it 
was  as  thin  as  vanity,  In  one  way  or  another,  however,  Gor- 
don persisted  in  it  as  long  as  he  lived. 


Capt.   Kapp,  Co.  F. 

[Killed  at  Antietam.     Protrait  taken  be- 
fore the  war.)i 


Howard  Henslev,  Co.  F. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


WILLIAMSPORT     AND     FRONT     ROYAL. 

We  remained  at  Williamsport  until  June  18.  These 
were  fine  days  in  the  early  summer,  with  occasional  heavy- 
rains,  but  warm  and  balmy.  All  nature  was  clothed  in  luxu- 
rient,  loveliest  green.  The  seiise  of  security,  and  even  of 
peace,  which  came  to  us,  was  most  delightful. 

Company  G  was  detailed  for  provost  duty  in  Hagers- 
town,  six  miles  away.  They  had  the  usual  round  of  exacting 
patrol  and  guard  service  to  maintain,  that  law  and  order 
might  not  desert  the  city,  which  was  never  a  soft  snap;  but 
the  boys  seemed  to  regard  their  stay  there  as  something  of  a 
holiday.  The  Union  element  largely  predominated  in  Hagers- 
town.  Like  Frederick, 'the  city  abounded  in  all  the  creature 
comforts,  and  the  people  were  generally  warm-hearted  and 
hospitable.  After  a  time  spent  in  a  bitterly  hostile  section, 
where  the  citizens  were  all  decidedly  unfriendly  and  where 
an  armed  enemy  might  appear  at  any  time  or  trom  any  quar- 
ter, it  was  a  treat  in  itself  to  be  in  such  a  city  as  Hagerstown. 
The  company  remained  there  until  the  regiment  left  Will- 
iamsport and  started  south\vard,  and  did  not  come  up  with  us 
until  we  reached  Front  Royal. 

Meanwhile  the  work  of  resupplying  the  troops  with  such 
things  as  had  been  lost  or  wornout  in  the  recent  hurry-skurry 
went  energetically  forward.  Almost  the  first  time  we  were 
called  into  line  at  Williamsport  was  for  inspection.  It  was  a 
busy  time  for  those  employed  in  the  commissary  or  quarter- 
masters' departments.  Next  to  food,  the  most  im{K)rtant 
articles  coming  to  us  were  our  rubber  and  woolen  blankets. 
As  previously  noted,  we  had  lost  all  of  these.  The  weather 
being  so  mild,  we  could  do  without  them  now  better  than  in 
colder  weather,  but  some  bedding  was  always  desirable.  We 
also  received  a  fresh  supply  of  knapsacks,  if  indeed  the  state- 
ment is  not  superfluous.  That  fact  might  perhaps  be  taken 
for  granted.  They  were  new  and  stanch.  They  had  the 
same   smell  of   turpentine,  paint  oil  and  India  rubber  as  the 


172 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


•old  ones,  and  we  soon  found  that  their  fit  was  no  better. 
They  tugged  backward  and  downward  on  our  tired  and  ach- 
ing shoulders  with  the  same  persistent,  aggravating  pull. 
Repeat  the  mancruver  of  hunching  the  back  and  giving  the 
shoulders  a  jerk  forward  and  upward  as  often  as  we  might, 
the  ache  would  soon  return. 

It  is  said  that  when  a  man  dreams  of  heaven  he  always 
dreams  of  it  as  a  place  where  his  worst  earthly  annoyances 
are  unknown.  The  inhabitant  of  the  torrid  zone,  for  exam- 
ple, dreams  of   heaven  as  a  place    where   there   is  no  burning 


Sergt.   M.  H.   Van  Busrirk. 
(Taken  soon  after  war.) 


W.  M.  Parsons,  Co.   A. 

(Recent  photograph.) 


heat ;  while  the  imagination  of  the  dweller  in  the  land  of 
perpetual  snow,  when  free  from  the  restraints  of  the  will, 
pictures  it  as  a  place  wholly  exempt  from  freezing  cold.  On 
that  theory,  a  soldier  of  the  late  war  might  possibly  dream  of 
there  being  guard  duty  in  the  Great  Beyond,  a  little  hard 
marching,  long  periods  without  rations,  and  even  an  occa- 
sional battle,  but  knapsacks — never! 

We  also  exchanged  muskets  and  brigadier-generals  while 
at  Williamsport.  The  only  reason  for  the  former  was  that 
we  might  have  anns  of  the  same  calibre  as  the  balance  of  the 


TWENTY-SEVHNTK    INDIANA.  173^ 

brigade.  Our  old  Belgium  rifles  were,  as  a  rule,  accurate  and 
wicked  shooters,  but  they  carried  such  large  balls  that  it  wa ; 
necessary  to  provide  ammunition  especially  for  the  Twenty- 
seventh.  This  not  only  involved  extra  labor,  but  there  was- 
danger  that  we  might  run  short  at  some  critical  time  and  not 
be  able  to  borrow.  Aside  from  this,  the  muskets  we  received 
were  inferior  to  tliose  we  turned  in.  Four  of  the  compan- 
ies, the  two  center  and  two  flanking  companies,  were  supplied 
with  "Minnie"  rifles.  These  were  short,  light  guns,  with 
swords  about  two  feet  long  for  bayonets.  The  other  six  com- 
panies received  English  Enfield's. 

The  writer  was  in  one  of  the  companies  receiving  the 
guns  with  the  sword  bayonets.  We  were  greatly  elated  over 
them  at  first.  They  had  been  highly  eulogized  in  the  papers. 
A  command  armed  with  them  seemed  ready  for  very  bloody 
work  in  the  estimation  of  the  average  newspaper  man.  But 
experience  proved  that  the  short  swords  had  no  other  or 
higher  use  than  to  cut  tent  stakes  and  kindling  wood.  Besides, 
they  were  cumbersome  and  annoying  to  carry  on  the  march. 
Without  the  bayonets  the  guns  were  too  light  for  efTective 
shooting  and  too  short  for  drilling.  With  the  bayonets  they 
were  too  unbalanced  and  unwieldly  for  either.  Those  receiv- 
ing the  Enfields,  while  a  little  chagrined  at  the  start,  soon 
discovered  that  they  had  by  far  the  most  desirable  arms  of  the 
two.  The  Enfields  possessed  one  advantage  over  any  other 
gun  used  on  the  Union  side  in  the  war.  The  troops  were  not 
slow  to  see  it  and  avail  themselves  of  its  benefits.  It  was  that 
the  rebels  were  largely  armed  with  them  and  in  any  battle  it 
was  easy  to  get  another  gun  if  your's  was  lost  or  disabled. 
Then  they  were  also  light,  well  proportioned  and  shot  to  kill. 

It  would  seem  that  any  change  in  brigade  commanders, 
should  have  been  welcomed  by  the  Twenty-seventh.  Any- 
body was  preferable  to  Gordon.  We  were  not  delighted  with 
our  new  commander  for  a  while,  however.  Those  who  know 
how  able  and  trustworthy  he  showed  himself  to  be  later,  may 
be  surprised  when  his  name  is  disclosed.  It  was  none  other 
than  Gen.  Geo.  S.  Green,  the  hero  of  Gulps  Hill,  Gettysburg. 
He  proved  to  be  a  capable  officer,  one  who  in  an  emergency 
had  few  equals,  of  his  rank.  Whether  at  this  time  he  was. 
crochety  and  impractiable,  or  only  mistaken  in  the  men  he 
was  dealing  with,  matters  little  now.  His  first  step  was  to 
order  the  Twenty-seventh  out  of  its  shady  camp,  among  the 


174  HISTORY    OF    THE 

big  oaks,  into  an  open  field,  grown  up  to  weeds.  If  the 
•change  was  ordered  to  escape  the  danger  of  sleeping  during 
the  night  upon  unplowed  ground  and  leaf  mould  it  might  have 
been  justified.  But  guards  were  posted  to  prevent  us  from 
returning  to  the  grateful  shade,  even  through  the  day.  We 
were  thus  forced  to  stay  out  in  the  field,  exposed  to  the  merci- 
less June  sun,  except  such  poor  shelter  as  our  tents  afforded. 
During  one  of  General  Grant's  terms  as  President  he  strongly 
urged  the  repeal  of  a  certain  law,  and  curiously  gave  as  a  rea- 
son that  its  existence  was  the  occasion  of  so  much  profanity. 
Assuredly  General  Green  did  not  think  of  that  consideration 
-when  he  issued  the  order  in  question.  No  order  bearing  upon 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Twenty-seventh  ever  provoked 
more  lurid  blasphemy.  As  has  been  said,  the  ground  we  were 
forced  to  occupy  was  grown  up  with  rank  weeks.  Though 
we  cut  these  down  and  removed  all  traces  of  them  as  thor- 
oughly as  possible,  some  snags  remained  and  the  ground  where 
they  had  been  emitted  an  offensive  and  distressing  odor. 
Every  time  one  of  the  bo3's  stubbed  his  toe  or  encountered  a 
sharp  projection  when  sitting  down,  or  while  lying  in  his  tent 
the  sickening  smell  disturbed  his  olfactories,  the  new  brigade 
commander  and  the  despised  order  came  in  for  a  series  of 
sulphurous  imprecations.  Others  of  General  Green's  peculiar- 
ities will  appear  later. 

Another  and  larger  ferry  was  provided  at  Williamsport 
during  our  sojourn  there.  The  rope  for  the  new  one  was 
twisted  wire,  nearly  or  quite  two  inches  in  diameter,  and 
weighed  several  tons.  On  the  south  side  of  the  river  this  rope 
-was  securely  fastened,  high  up  in  a  large  tree.  There  being 
no  trees  on  the  north  side,  a  support  was  erected  with  a  pulley 
at  the  top,  over  which  the  rope  was  passed,  thence  down  to 
a  massive  bulk -head.  But  the  latter  proved  inadequate  to 
stretch  such  a  heavy  cable.  The  stakes  holding  it  to  the 
ground  would  give  way,  or  if  they  held  for  awhile,  something 
else  would  break.  As  a  sort  of  experiment,  or  forlorn  hope, 
five  hundred  men  of  our  brigade  were  detailed  to  go  down  and 
pull  on  the  rope,  and,  if  possible,  stretch  it  up  to  its  place. 
Who  suggested  the  trial  is  not  known  to  the  writer.  Many 
were  the  speculations  as  to  the  result.  A  very  large  majority 
•of  those  who  expressed  any  opinion  about  the  matter,  scouted 
the  effort  as  useless.  But  when  those  five  hundred  lusty 
patriots   got   hold   of  that  rope,  with   a  "  He-o-he-e  "  and   a 


TWENTY-SEVKNTH    INDIANA.  175 

prolonged  "  Who-o-p,"  they  first  took  up  the  three  or  four 
hundred  feet  of  slack  that  had  laid  tangled  in  the  bed  of  the 
wide  river.  Then,  with  another  similar  effort,  they  stretched 
the  entire  cable  until  its  lowest  sag  in  the  middle  was  several 
feet  above  the  high  water  level.  It  was  all  done  inside  of 
three  minutes.  Never  was  adverse  theory  more  speedily  or 
more  effectually  disproved  by  practice.  A  good  sized  scow, 
sent  out  into  the  stream  to  assist  in  loosening  the  rope  from 
the  rocks,  came  near  being  drawn  under  water  by  the  shear 
force  of  the  rope  passing  over  it.  The  men  in  the  scow 
screamed  frantically  for  the  men  pulling  on  the  rope  to  stop, 
though  in  vain.  Then  the  thought  occurred  to  them  to  seize 
hold  of  the  rope  themselves,  and,  when  they  did,  they  were 
quickly  drawn  to  the  shore.  The  incident  has  stood  in  the 
writer's  mind  through  all  the  intervening  years  as  a  majestic 
example  of  the  tremendous  power  there  is  in  the  aggregation 
of  mere  human  forces.  From  that  day  to  this  he  has  never 
been  worried  over  the  question  of  how  such  monster  stones 
could  be  in  the  ruins  of  Thebes  and  Baalbek.  The  one  dis- 
turbing thought  about  that  ferry  is  that  it  seems  to  have  been 
left  for  General  Lee's  use,  after  his  defeat  at  Gettysburg, 
materially  aiding  him  in  his  escape. 

While  we  were  here  the  Potoniac  river  gave  us  an  exhibi- 
tion of  what  it  could  do,  on  occasion.  After  a  heavy  rain  it 
rose  twenty-five  feet  in  one  night,  going  above  that  in  the 
next  few  hours  succeeding.  From  a  quiet,  peaceful  steam, 
gliding  poetically  along  in  its  course  to  the  sea,  it  became  a 
wild,  raging  monster,  whose  muddy,  turbid  flood  boiled  and 
surged  as  if  ready  to  overwhelm  and  destroy  whatever  might 
come  near  it.  Immense  trees,  torn  up  by  the  roots,  were  borne 
bodily  upon  its  surface,  as  well  as  logs,  hewn  timber,  boards, 
rails  and  all  manner  of  debris.  The  grassy  piece  of  table- 
land, between  the  river  and  canal,  upon  which  we  had  lain 
after  crossing  to  the  north  side,  some  days  before,  and  which 
was  then  high  and  dry,  was  now  deep  under  water. 

Just  when  the  river  was  at  its  highest  the  men  of  our 
brigade,  not  on  other  duty,  were  all  taken  for  a  swim.  If 
anything  else  was  lacking,  there  was  no  lack  of  water.  Two 
of  the  Twenty-seventh,  on  a  banter,  swam  the  river,  more 
than  half  a  mile  wide,  and  formidable  and  threatening  as  it 
■was,  in  other  respects.     Once  was  enough,  however,  and  they 


176  inSTORY    OF    THE 

went  up  and  recrossed  on  the  ferry,  cu  dcsJiabillc  though  they 
were. 

On  June  10,  our  faces  were  again  turned  southward. 
General  Green  had  odd  theories  also  about  marching  troops. 
They  resembled  the  methods  which  a  grannyish  old  farmer 
might  adopt  to  get  his  favorite  stall-fed  calf  to  the  county 
fair.  We  started  at  four  a.  m.,  with  the  design  of  making  a 
short  march  in  the  cool  of  the  morning,  then  lying  by  through 
the  heat  of  the  day.  This  was  not  bad;  but  the  old  General 
proposed  also  to  have  personal  charge  of  e«ch  soldier.  He 
proposed  to  regulate  the  number  of  drinks  of  water  each  one 
should  have,  when  and  where  he  should  get  them,  and  how 
much  he  should  drink  each  time.  The  same  was  largely  true 
of  eating,  and  various  other  things,  about  which  we  had  had 
more  or  less  freedom  of  choice  before  this.  Those  who  know 
what  the  spirit  and  temper  of  the  volunteer  army  of  '61  to  '6& 
was,  can  imagine  what  a  contract  the  old  gentleman  had  on 
his  hands. 

There  was  considerable  delay  in  getting  over  the  river  by 
the  ferries.  We,  therefore,  made  only  six  miles  the  iirst  day, 
camping  at  Falling  Waters  for  the  night.  Qjjartermaster 
Sergeant  Crose  tells  of  Doctor  Woollen's  big  grey  horse  jump- 
ing overboard,  while  crossing,  and  of  the  ferryman,  to  appease 
the  Doctor,  jumping  after  him.  The  Doctor,  usually  so- 
equable  and  urbane,  seems  to  have  been  considerably  agitated 
over  the  incident.  But  the  horse  reached  the  shore  in  due 
time,  none  the  worse  for  his  bath. 

The  second  day  we  passed  through  the  loyal  and  sightly 
town  of  Martinsburg  and  on  to  Bunker  Hill,  camping  near 
where  we  had  spent  a  night  the  previous  March.  The 
third  day  we  passed  through  Winchester,  pitching  our  tents, 
for  a  short  stay  as  it  proved,  south  of  Newtown.  The  gen- 
eral reader  will  understand,  doubtless,  that  other  troops,, 
under  General  Fremont,  had  come  into  the  Valley  ahead  of 
us.  The  rebel  forces  were  gone.  Hence,  during  these  leis- 
urely marches,  there  was  no  enemy  in  the  case. 

Our  brigade  commander's  theories  were  put  sorely  to  the 
test  during  these  days.  Before  starting  each  morning,  every 
soldier  who  had  anything  to  drink  in  his  canteen,  was  required 
to  pour  it  out.  Then  no  one  was  to  take  a  drink  until  ordered 
to  do  so  by  the  Brigadier-general.  Numerous  clear,  sparkling- 
rivulets   cross   this   pike   at   intervals,   usually   the   output   of 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  177 

springs  close  by.  None  of  them  were  bridged,  and  most  of 
them  were  without  foot  logs,  so  the  soldiers  had  to  wade 
through  the  cool,  tempting  water.  There  are  several  in- 
stances also,  of  immense,  flowing  springs,  of  the  most  delicious 
water,  near  the  roadside  and  in  plain  view.  The  weather 
was  quite  warm  and  the  road  dusty.  ]Maybe  the  General  and 
his  staff  and  orderlies  did  not  have  a  hard  task  to  prevent  the 
jaded,  thirsty  men  from  helping  themselves  to  water,  under 
such  circumstances?  We  laughed  for  many  days,  over  the 
ludicrous  spectacle  they  afforded,  while  vainly  making  the  at- 
tempt. At  certain  stages,  however,  the  column  was  halted  and 
the  men  were  asked,  if  not  ordered,  to  take  a  drink,  though 
they  were  kindly  admonished  at  the  same  time  not  to  partake 
too  freely  and  assured  that  another  opportunity  to  drink 
would  be  given  them  in  good  time.  If  no  suitable  brook  or 
spring  was  found  near  the  proper  place,  the  mounted  men, 
who  were  dispatched  ahead  to  look  after  the  matter,  pumped 
barrels  and  tubs  of  water,  at  some  farm  house  and  had  them 
ready. 

Another  feature  of  the  General's  plan  was  that  no  soldier 
should  leave  the  ranks  except  by  permission  of  a  commissioned 
officer  and  then  under  the  surveillance  of  a  non-commissioned 
officer.  No  one  was  to  enter  any  private  house  or  enclosure. 
No  one,  enlisted  or  commissioned,  was  to  march  in  any  other 
order  except  in  his  proper  position  in  the  column.  Any  one 
caught  straggling  or  out  of  his  place,  was  speedily  arrested, 
or  hustled  into  his  place  again.  These  regulations,  while  new 
at  this  time  and  regarded  as  rather  severe,  were  substantially 
enforced  at  other  times,  later  on. 

When  passing  through  Winchester,  the  Twenty-seventh 
was  supplied  with  an  escort.  Lines  of  armed  soldiers,  stran- 
gers to  us,  marched  on  either  side  of  the  regiment.  The  lines 
were  about  as  heavy  as  those  usually  sent  with  prisoners  of 
war.  No  one  of  us,  on  any  pretense,  was  allowed  to  stop  or 
turn  aside.  There  was  considerable  bandinage  among  us, 
and  between  us  and  the  other  men,  about  a  bodyguard. 
Colonel  Colgrove  has  stated,  in  recent  years,  that  General 
Green  took  this  precaution  because  of  the  threats  different 
members  of  the  Twenty-seventh  had  made  to  burn  the  misera- 
ble town,  if  they  should  ever  see  it  again,  on  account  of  the 
conduct  of  its  citizens  when  Banks'  army  passed  through  it 
on   its   retreat.      We   were  not  aware,   at   the   time,  that   we 

12 


178  HISTORY    OF    THE 

were  the  only  regiment  receiving  such  distinguished  attention. 
There  did  not  seem  to  be  any  thing  much  to  do  at  New- 
town.    The  only  duty  assigned  to  the  men  was   to  guard  the 
premises   of   citizens   and  to  maintain  a  dignified,  military  ap- 
pearance  at   General   Green's   headquarters.     There    was    no 
picket   line  or   camp   guard   maintained,  and  the  calls  to  drill 
were  few  and  far  between.     All   hands  seemed  to  be  compla- 
cently waiting  for  something  to    turn    up.      The   people  about 
Newtown   made   no   concealment   of   the   fact  that  they  were 
greatly  pleased  over  our  being  driven   precipitately  out  of  the 
Valley  a  few  weeks  previously.      Indeed,  they   boldy    taunted 
us  about  it,  and  said   they   both  hoped  and  believed  that  the 
same  thing  would  be  repeated  again,  very  soon.     These  things 
they  said   to  us   while    we   were   standing   with   arms  in  our 
hands,  protecting  them  and  their  homes  from   possible  harm. 
No  greater  joy  could  have  been  given  to  the   members   of  the 
Twenty-seventh    than   to   have   been    with   General  Sheridan 
when   he   desolated    the   Shenandoah  valley  until,  as   he  said, 
if   a   crow   wanted    to   fly  over   it   he  would  have  to  carry  his 
rations    with    him.      Though    it   was  not    done   to  punish   the 
citizens,  but  to  prevent  the  frequent  invasions  of  Pennsylvania, 
it  was  no  more  than  the  citizens  deserved. 

General  Green's  headquarters  were  in  a  large  stone 
dwelling-house,  in  the  northern  outskirts  of  the  village.  The 
house  had  a  fresh,  well-preserved  appearance,  the  walls  in 
particular.  The  flinty,  blue  limestone  of  which  it  was  built 
showed  no  signs  of  age  or  traces  of  wear.  Some  of  us  were 
almost  paralyzed  when  we  discovered  that,  according  to 
figures  in  the  south  gable,  it  had  been  built  almost  a  hundred 
years.  New  as  everything  was  where  we  had  always  lived, 
jn  Indiana,  this  house  seemed  to  us  quite  a  marvel  of  antiquity. 
A  regimental  court-martial,  composed  of  commissioned 
officers,  of  course,  was  in  session  at  this  time,  inquiring  into 
charges  of  various  kinds  against  a  number  of  men  of  the  rank 
and  file.  It  is  the  first  of  its  kind  of  which  any  record  has 
turned  up.  Captain  Cassady  was  president  and  Captain 
Williams  was  judge-advocate.  The  records  indicate  that  all  the 
members  were  governed  by  motives  of  justice  and  humanity, 
and  had  a  praiseworthy  ambition  to  proceed  strictly  in  accord- 
ance with  the  laws,  in  such  cases  made  and  provided.  But  in 
many  instances  in  the  army,  some  of  them  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  the    decisions  of    courts-martial,  where  officers  were 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  179 

sitting  in  judgment  upon  enlisted  men,  if  there  was  any 
thought  of  justice,  there  could  have  been  none  of  humanity. 
That  was  a  great  step  in  human  progress  when,  by  the  his- 
toric Magna  Charta,  it  became  a  part  of  the  fundamental  law 
that  in  civil  life  every  man  shall  be  tried  by  a  jury  of  his 
peers.  The  time  will  come  when  the  same  great  law  will 
prevail  in  our  volunteer  army. 

June  18,  we  moved  from  Xewtown  eastward  to  the 
Winchester  and  Front  Royal  pike,  and  passed  down  it  to 
within  about  four  miles  of  Front  Royal.  On  the  way 
we  passed  the  camps  of  a  part  of  Fremont's  army.  They 
had  been  operating  in  West  Virginia  previous  to  this. 
We  camped  in  a  wide  stretch  of  open  country,  with  no 
town  or  village  near.  The  position  was  probably  considered 
favorable  in  a  military  sense.  Though  General  Sheridan, 
later  in  the  war,  in  studying  the  situation  of  this  valley, 
decided  that  there  was  no  defensible  position  in  it  except  in 
the  vicinity  of  Harper's  Ferry,  the  one  occupied  at  this  time 
could  not  have  been  bad.  If  the  enemy  should  come  down 
the  Luray  valley,  as  he  had  done  before,  we  had  the  Shenan- 
doah river  in  front  of  us,  while,  by  coming  down  the  main 
valley,  he  could  not  get  in  our  rear.  We  had  better  command 
of  the  railroad  also  and  direct  communication  with  Washing- 
ton and  the  choice  of  both  lines  of  retreat.  But  the  fact 
was  now,  that  Jackson,  with  niost  of  his  army,  was  not 
within  a  hundred  miles  of  us.  A  force  larger  than  he  had 
ever  been  able  to  muster  was  boldly  waiting  an  attack  from 
him  while  he  was  pounding  away  at  our  brave  but  badly  hand- 
icapped army  in  front  of  Richmond. 

We  remained  in  this  position  until  July  6th.  It  has 
been  impossible  to  recall  or  discover  any  record  of  much 
that  we  did  while  there.  In  fact  to  extend  the  time  on 
to  the  period  when  the  regiment  was  reunited  at  Little 
Washington,  there  is  no  other  equal  period  of  our  service 
about  which  the  writer's  memory  seems  so  vague.  He  re- 
members distincty  the  booming  of  the  cannon  for  the  glori- 
ous Fourth.  A  little  incident  impressed  it  deeply  upon 
his  mind.  It  showed  the  complete  alienation  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  South  from  the  government  and  traditions  of 
their  fathers.  The  writer's  company  was  doing  outpost  duty, 
two  or  three  miles  from  camp,  guarding  a  ford  and  grist- 
mill on  the   Shenandoah,  catching  eels   and   rusticating   gen- 


180  HISTORY    OF    THE 

erally.  He  had  gone  a  short  distance  away  from  the  bivouac 
and  was  eating  blackberries,  along  a  briar-grown  fence  row. 
Seeing  two  butternut  horsemen  approaching,  he  remained 
quietly  concealed  to  hear  what  they  might  be  saying.  Their 
conversation  was  evidently  about  the  artillery  salute,  then 
being  fired.  As  they  were  passing  one  said,  "  Yes,  they 
make  a  great  fuss  about  this  Fourth  of  July.  They  celebrate 
it  all  over  the  North,  with  ringing  of  bells,  firing  of  guns, 
parades,  barbecues  and  speeches.  They  also  make  a  great 
fuss  about  Washington.  They  call  him  the  father  of  their 
country."  "  Well,"  answered  the  other,  "  I  remember,  years 
ago,  when  there  used  to  be  something  of  the  kind  among  us, 
but  not  lately."  There  was  more  of  the  same  tenor.  As  a 
whole  it  was  a  startling  revelation  to  a  boy.  He  had  been 
schooled  to  lofty  sentiments  about  these  things.  He  had  no 
other  thought  only  that  the  Fourth  of  July  marked  the  birth 
of  the  best  government  the  world  had  ever  known  ;  one  well 
worthy  of  the  best  blood  of  its  citizens.  From  his  very  cra- 
dle he  had  been  taught  to  venerate  Washington,  and  he 
remembered  with  what  swelling  of  heart  he  had,  again  and 
again,  thought  of  Virginia,  which  was  called  "The  home  of 
Washington  "  and  "  The  mother  of  presidents,"  as  being  also 
the  home  of  one  line  of  his  own  ancestors.  Yet  here  were  two 
grey-haired  Virginians  coolly  talking  as  if  they  had  no  sort  of 
interest  in,  not  to  say  good  will  for,  the  country,  and  none 
even  for  Washington  himself.  The  subject  will  come  up 
again  in  this  narrative,  but  very  few,  indeed,  in  the  Northern 
states,  even  among  those  who  served  long  and  faithfully  to 
put  the  rebellion  down,  have  any  adequate  conception  of  the 
real  conditions  out  of  which  it  sprung. 

Another  thing  that  marked  this  Fourth  was  that  General 
Milroy  came  to  the  camp  of  the  Twenty-seventh  during  the 
day.  He  was  one  of  the  rising  men  from  Indiana  and  com- 
manded a  brigade  at  this  time.  We  all  felt  honored  by  his 
visit. 

A  record  says  we  received  our  shelter  tents  at  this  camp 
above  Front  Royal.  Being  written  at  the  time,  it  is  likely 
correct,  though  we  must  have  used  our  large  tents  for  a  while 
after  this.  Crose  speaks  of  the  big  tents  being  turned  in  at 
Warrenton,  some  weeks  later.  It  may  be  that  we  received 
the  shelter  tents  a  short  time  before  we  began  using  them 
Whenever   we    received    them    or    began    using    them,    their 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  181 

introduction,  and  general  use  in  the  army,  marked  an  era 
in  the  war.  It  was  an  instance  of  what  seems  an  insignifi- 
cant thing  in  itself,  but  which,  coming  into  general  use,  works 
a  great  revolution.  The  Little  Monitor  was  the  most  striking 
instance  of  this  kind  in  our  Civil  war.  The  shelter  tent  was 
scarcely  less  notable. 

The  last  and  best  large  tents  we  used  were  the  "  vSibbly  " 
tents.  They  were  modeled  after  the  Indian  wigwam,  round 
at  the  bottom  and  running  up  to  a  high,  sharp  peak  in 
the  center.  They  were  very  light  and  had  few  neces- 
sary belongings  except  the  naked  tent,  never  leaked  or 
blew  over,  were  easily  put  up  and  taken  down,  the  space 
in  them  was  high  and  roomy,  and,  best  of  all,  they  were  cool 
in  summer,  and  without  any  extra  device,  a  fire  could  be  built 
in  them  at  any  time.  The  pole  supporting  the  tent  stood 
upon  a  iron  tripod,  in  the  exact  center.  With  a  fire  between 
the  legs  of  this  tripod,  the  smoke  passed  out  at  a  small  hole 
at  the  apex  of  the  tent  and  the  occupants  could  sit  or  lie  in  a 
circle  around  the  fire  and  be  comfortable  in  very  cold  weather. 
But  they  had  one  objection,  common  to  all  large  tents  ;  they 
had  to  be  hauled  in  wagons  when  a  move  was  made.  There- 
fore, if  the  roads  were  bad  or  overcrowded,  so  that  the  teams 
could  not  keep  up  with  the  men,  the  latter  were  Avithout  shel- 
ter. Often  when  the  teams  were  late  in  getting  up,  and  the 
men  were  weary,  they  prefered  to  go  shelterless  rather  than 
unload  the  wagons  and  put  up  the  tents. 

With  the  shelter  tents,  all  this  was  changed.  There  was 
a  prophecy  in  its  very  name  "Shelter  Tent."  It  did  afford 
an  unfailing  shelter  ;  if  not  of  the  best,  it  was  better  than  none. 
Wherever  two  soldiers  happened  to  be,  or  whatever  their 
situation  in  other  respects,  they  might  at  least  have  a  roof  over 
their  heads.  In  storm  or  sunshine,  with  little  exertion,  in  five 
minutes  of  time,  the  homeless  wayfarers  could  be  under  cover. 
If  an  order  came  to  move  on,  presto !  in  one  minute,  they 
could  be  ready  to  go.     This  meant  a  great  deal. 

When  the  soldiers,  in  irony  and  some  ill  humor,  called 
them  "  Dog  "  and  "  Pup"  tents,  they  were  also  speaking  bet- 
ter than  they  knew.  The  reason  they  did  this  probably  was 
because,  in  getting  into  them,  they  had  to  get  down,  in  a  way 
resembling  a  dog  or  pup  crawling  into  its  kennel.  But  the  dog 
is  man's  most  faithful  and  devoted,  though  lowly  friend.  Noth- 
ing else  living  goes  with  him  wherever  he  goes,  into  all  lati- 


182 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


tudes  and  longitudes,  sharing  all  his  ups  and  downs,  and  serv- 
ing him  always,  to  the  best  of  his  humble  abilit3^  In  that 
sense  those  little  tents  were  indeed  "  dog  tents." 

A  shelter  tent  was  composed  of  two  or  more  pieces  of 
stout  muslin,  each  about  five  feet  by  six  in  size.  Along  one 
side  of  each  piece  was  a  substantial  hem.  At  each  end  of  the 
hem,  was  a  small  loop  of  rope  attached.  Around  the  other 
three  sides  were  button  holes,  six  inches  apart  and  back  from 


A  Reci.mental  Ca.mi*  wi'i'H  Shelter  Tents,  takii.n  in  Cuba, 
(Plate  kindly  loaned  by  Chaplain  Skinner,  Fourth-Illinois.) 

each  button  hole  three  inches,  was  a  button.  At  one  of  the 
corners,  opposite  the  loops  of  rope,  a  cord,  some  six  feet  long, 
was  attached.  Each  man  was  given  one  of  these  pieces  of 
muslin  and  expected  to  carry  it  with  him  wherever  he  went. 
Any  two  of  these  pieces  were  counterparts  of  each  other  and 
when  buttoned  together  and  stretched  over  a  ridge  pole, 
formed  a  diminutive  tent  for  two  men.  The  loops  of  rope 
served  to  stake  it  to  the  ground  and  the  cords  could  be  used  to 
stay  it  endways.  The  only  articles  to  be  supplied  was  a  ridge 
pole  and  stakes.  These  could  usually  be  obtained  very  easily, 
but  in  an  emergency  guns  and  bayonets  would  answer  the 
purpose.      More  commonly,  four  of  these  pieces  were  buttoned 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  183 

together  and  formed  a  tent  for  four  men.  With  two  additional 
pieces,  or  one  piece  cut  in  two  diagonally,  the  ends  of  this  toy- 
like tent  could  be  closed  up  also.  This  was  always  done  in 
bad  weather.  When  the  camp  promised  to  be  of  some  per- 
manence, it  was  short  work  for  four  men  to  build  an  oblong 
pen  of  small  logs  or  poles  and  stretch  the  tent  over  it.  When 
the  cracks  of  this  pen  were  daubed  with  mud,  a  door  cut  in 
one  end  and  a  fire  place  built  in  the  other,  no  soldier,  in  the 
field,  could  ask  for  more  comfortable  quarters.  The  shelter 
tent  was  a  happy  thought,  really  a  great  thought. 

Akin  to  the  shelter  tent,  and  its  natural  and  worthy  com- 
panions, were  the  quart  pails  and  small  frying  pans,  which 
were  also  introduced  about  this  time.  How  or  from  whence 
they  came  nobody  could  tell.  The  government  did  not  pro- 
vide them.  The  thought  occurred  to  some  one,  and  when  it 
was  seen  what  a  convenience  they  were,  immediately  all  had 
them.  A  fruit  can  with  a  bit  of  wire  for  a  bail,  answered  for 
the  pail,  and  the  half  of  a  canteen,  with  a  stick  having  a  slot 
or  split  in  one  end,  to  form  a  handle,  answered  for  the  frying 
pan.  Thousands  of  soldiers  never  cared  for  anything  better. 
These  three  simple  little  devices  brought  about  a  great  change 
in  the  conduct  of  campaigns,  and  doubtless  had  much  to  do 
with  the  final  results  of  the  war.  They  not  only  insured  the 
soldier  a  shelter  and  means  of  cooking  his  food  wherever  he 
might  be,  but  in  doing  this  they  enabled  him  to  push  his  way 
far  beyond  where  he  could  have  gone  otherwise,  and  with  a 
celerity  impossible  before.  At  one  stroke  these  three  articles 
cut  down  by  more  than  one-half  that  cumberous  and  often 
fatal  impediment  of  an  army — the  wagon  train.  From  the 
time  of  their  introduction  on  to  the  end,  despite  the  weather 
or  the  roads,  despite  wagonmasters,  mules  or  worthless  staff 
officers,  the  soldier  could  be  happy  and  useful.  He  asked  of 
the  government  but  two  things — a  commissary  and  a  com- 
mander— some  one  to  feed  and  some  one  to  lead.  When 
sweet  potatoes  and  razor-back  hogs  were  not  too  scarce  he 
could  do  fairly  well  without  a  coinmissary,  but  he  always  felt 
a  little  lonesome  without  at  least  a  major-general. 

Returning  to  our  narrative  of  events,  there  is  no  question 
about  our  receiving  one  article  at  this  time.  Our  friend 
Gordon  returned  to  us  a  full  fledged  brigadier  and  relieved 
General  Green  as  commandc-r  of  our  brigade.  It  does  not 
beget    in    us    unalloyed  satisfaction    when    we   find  in  a  diary 


184  HISTORY    OF    THE 

that  the  officers  of  the  Twenty-seventh  called  upon  him  in  a 
body,  to  congratulate  him  on  his  promotion  and  return  to  his 
former  command.  ''The  king  is  dead  ;  long  live  the  king." 
In  justice  to  the  officers  it  should  be  stated,  however,  that 
there  is  no  record  of  their  having  congratulated  themselves  or 
the  men  of  the  regiment  over  either  consummation.  Gordon 
had  already  put  upon  them  an  indignity,  in  an  indirect  way, 
almost  as  grievous  as  was  possible.  He  had  selected  his  en- 
tire staff  from  his  own  regiment,  ignoring  not  only  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  but  the  other  two  regiments  also.  What  a  liberal, 
broad-minded,  big-hearted  fellow  he  must  have  been,  forsooth  ! 

But  our  peaceful  times  in  the  broad,  fertile  fields  north 
of  Front  Royal  were  drawing  to  a  close,  as  indeed  was  our 
service  in  the  rich  and  picturesque  Shenandoah  Valley.  None 
of  us  were  sorry.  Though  it  is  a  delightful  country  naturally, 
and  it  is  a  satisfaction  now  to  be  familiar  with  its  charming 
and  historic  locaHties,  we  were  not  content  to  be  there.  Our 
army  was  not  large  enough  to  act  on  the  offensive,  and  to  do 
otherwise  is  not  agreeable  to  soldiers  in  time  of  war. 

But  important  developments  were  at  hand.  The  three 
armies  heretofore  acting  separately,  under  Banks,  Fremont 
and  McDowell,  had  been  consolidated  into  one,  to  be  known 
as  the  Army  of  Virginia.  On  the  26th  of  June,  by  appoint- 
ment of  the  President,  Gen.  John  Pope  had  assumed  com- 
mand. From  the  first  it  had  been  the  design  of  the  authorities 
that  the  theater  of  operations  of  this  larger  army  should  be 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Inasmuch  as  the  plans  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Richmond,  by  McClellan's  army,  had  failed,  it  was 
now  more  important  than  ever  that  we  should  be  on  the  move. 

The  selection  of  General  Pope  for  this  command  was  not, 
as  far  as  the  writer  remembers  or  finds  in  any  record,  offensive 
to  the  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh.  It  may  not  matter, 
but  it  is  true.  Many  in  high  places  questioned  it  stoutly. 
Some  became  involved  in  ugly  complications  because  of  their 
refusal  to  acquiesce  in  it  heartily.  Whatever  General  Pope 
might  or  might  not  have  accomplished  under  other  conditions,, 
it  is  plain  that  he  had  no  chance  as  it  was.  Most  unfortu- 
nately, those  who  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the 
jealousies,  bickerings  and  sulkings,  such  as  followed  Pope's 
appointment,  pay  the  larger  part  of  the  dreadful  penalty  for 
them  in  the  fruitless  sacrifice  of  their  loyal  lives.  That  was 
sadly  true  in  this  instance. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


HAZEL  RIVER  BRIDGE— CULPEPER  AND  LITTLE 
WASHINGTON. 

On  July  6th,  we  were  on  the  move  once  more.  Starting 
a  little  late,  we  marched  leisurely,  crossed  the  Shenandoah, 
passed  through  the  edge  of  Front  Royal  and  camped  a  mile 
beyond,  on  the  road  to  Warrenton.  On  the  7th,  after  a  very 
hot,  tiresome  march,  we  pitched  our  tents  on  a  shady  hillside, 
near  Flint  Hill,  having  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge  at  Chester  Gap. 
Over  this  same  road  the  bulk  of  Lee's  army  passed  the  follow- 
ing summer,  en  route  to  Pennsylvania. 

We  can  never  forget  the  great  abundance  of  fine  cherries 
we  found  on  our  march  that  day.  A  succession  of  trees,  from 
one  to  three  feet  in  diameter,  with  immense  spreading  tops, 
shading  several  square  rods,  stood  along  the  road,  and  they 
were  bending  under  a  load  of  such  luscious  fruit  as  we  had 
never  seen  before.  The  cherries  were  as  large  as  fair-sized 
plums  and  as  sweet  as  raisins.  The  boys  broke  off"  the  limbs 
and,  carrying  them  along  in  the  ranks,  stripped  them  as  they 
went.  The  temptation  to  stop  also  and  gather  cherries  may 
have  increased  the  straggling  that  day.  Not  over  half  the 
men  were  in  ranks  when  the  evening  halt  was  made.  But  the 
excessive  heat  was  the  principal  cause.  There  were  several 
sun-strokes  in  the  other  regiments.  In  ours,  one  or  two  men 
had  serious  attacks  of  stomach  cramp — the  result  of  drinking 
too  much  water. 

On  the  8th,  we  moved  on  to  Gains  Cross  Roads,  a  short 
march.  Here  we  remained  two  nights.  Both  mornings  we 
were  hustled  up  and  into  line  before  daylight.  Two  rumors, 
or  theories,  were  current  about  this  at  the  time.  One  was 
that  an  attack  was  really  expected;  the  other,  that  it  was  to 
test  our  readiness  for  such  an  emergency. 

On  the  11th,  the  march  was  continued.  But,  at  Waterloo 
Bridge,  came  an  order  which  was  to  give  the  Twenty-seventh 
a  new  experience.  Heretofore  we  had  mostly  served  along 
with  a  considerable  army.     Several   regiments,  at  least,  had 


186  HISTORY    OF    THE 

been  constantly  at  hand.  Here  our  regiment  itself  was  divided 
and  the  different  parts  were  each  to  be  alone  for  awhile. 
Colonel  Colgrove  w^as  ordered  to  take  the  right  wing  and 
report  for  duty  to  General  Hatch,  of  the  cavalry.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Morrison,  with  the  left  wing,  after  remaining  one  day 
with  the  brigade,  followed  the  right  wing,  and  proceeded  on 
to  Culpeper  Court  House. 

The  wing  under  Colonel  Colgrove  retraced  its  steps  to 
Amissville,  from  thence  by  a  country  road  leading  through 
Thomsonville,  it  arrived  at  the  crossing  of  Hazel  River,  the 
evening  of  the  12th.  Here  the  cavalry  had  a  slight  skirmish 
and,  making  a  quick  dash,  prevented  the  bridge  from  being 
destroyed.  The  battalion  went  into  camp  on  a  hill  over- 
looking the  bridge.  The  next  day  was  Sunday  and  a  large 
number  of  colored  people  visited  the  camp.  We  were  the 
first  Yankee  soldiers  any  of  them  had  ever  seen.  They  hailed 
us  wuth  unconcealed  cordiality  and  delight.  They  were  willing 
to  "Pat  Juber,"  sing,  dance  or  do  almost  anything  for  our 
amusement.  And  they  were  kept  busy.  The  boys  may  have 
trespassed  upon  good  nature  somewhat,  but  the  simple-hearted 
slaves  did  not  seem  to  think  so. 

The  enlistment  of  the  negroes  as  soldiers  was  already 
under  discussion.  So,  as  throwing  light  upon  the  subject,, 
the  Colonel  formed  a  squad  of  them  in  line,  supplied  them 
with  muskets  and  tried  drilling  them  in  the  manual  of  arms. 
They  were  placed  at  attention,  order  arms.  When  the  com- 
mand "Shoulder  Arms  "  w'as  given,  all  showed  their  ivory 
and  remained  motionless  except  one  old  man,  of  glossy  ebony, 
evidently  a  character  among  them.  With  an  expression  of 
assurance  on  his  face  and  a  turning  out  of  the  white  of  his 
eyes,  as  if  to  say,  "You  needn't  think  I  don't  know  that 
much,"  he  complacently  laid  the  musket  upon  his  shoulder, 
hunter  fashion. 

General  Pope,  in  one  of  his  much-talked-about  orders, 
had  said  something  about  living  off  of  the  country.  As  far  as 
known,  we  had  the  usual  amount  of  rations  at  this  time,  but 
the  country  was  also  made  to  contribute  liberally.  Like 
Dives  in  the  parable,  we  fared  sumptuously  every  day.  The 
fields  were  everywhere  full  of  delicious  berries  and,  by  hook  or 
crook,  fresh  meat  and  poultry  found  their  way  into  our  mess- 
kettles  bountifully.  Those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
have  a  hook  and  line,  or  were  able  to  borrow  one,  also  had  all 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  187 

the  fresh  fish  they  wanted.  In  short,  the  battalion  gave  itself 
over  to  having  a  good  time.  Always  on  the  alert  for  any 
lurking  foe,  never  straying  far  from  camp,  muskets  ready 
loaded,  capped  and  kept  where  they  were  handy,  we  throwed 
off  all  other  cares  and  enjoyed  ourselves  all  we  could.  The 
river  was  at  a  good  stage  and  the  water  in  fine  condition  for 
bathing.  Only  a  limited  number  were  allowed  to  be  in  the 
river  at  a  time,  but  the  quota  was  seldom  found  short. 

One  morning  while  we  were  here,  perhaps  the  first,  there 
was  a  little  flurry  and,  but  for  prudent,  soldierly  management, 
might  have  been  bloodshed  among  our  own  troops.  A  de- 
tachment of  Union  cavalry  came  up  from  the  rear,  but  did  not 
seem  to  know  of  our  being  there.  When  they  sighted  our 
pickets  they  swung  out  into  a  field  at  a  gallop  and  began 
forming  for  a  charge.  Of  course,  each  side  took  the  other  for 
enemies.  A  fog  which  prevailed  at  the  time,  helped  on  the  de- 
lusion. The  long  roll  was  beaten  in  our  camp  and  in  very  short 
order  we  were  ready  to  give  the  parties,  whoever  they  might 
be,  a  warm  reception.  Yet,  coming  from  the  direction  they 
had,  there  was  a  strong  conviction  on  our  side  that  the  cavalry 
must  belong  to  our  army.  Luckily  no  shots  were  fired  before 
an  understanding  was  arrived  at. 

Company  D  rejoined  this  detachment  of  the  regiment  at 
this  time,  having  been  absent  since  the  forepart  of  June.  They 
had  been  detailed  at  Winchester  to  guard  prisoners.  On  June 
13th,  they  started  to  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  with  four  hun- 
dred and  forty-three  of  their  grey-coated  charge.  They 
marched  by  way  of  Martinsburg  and  Williamsport  to  Hagers- 
town;  thence  they  went  by  rail.  Returning  by  the  same  route 
they  again  reached  Winchester  the  evening  of  the  18th.  From 
then  until  July  7th  they  did  provost  duty  in  Winchester, 
when  they  started,  under  orders  to  report  to  the  regiment. 
Finding  it  gone  from  above  Front  Royal,  they  followed  on 
and  overtook  us  at  Hazel  river. 

On  July  16th,  Colonel  Colgrove,  leaving  Companies  C 
and  D,  under  Major  Johnson,  to  hold  this  position,  moved  on 
with  the  others  to  Culpeper  Court  House.  Following  two 
regiments  of  cavalry,  they  started  in  a  heavy  rain.  After  one 
of  the  muddiest  and  most  slavish  marches  anybody  ever  made, 
they  joined  the  left  wing  at  Culpeper,  that  evening.  As  much 
as  the  great  war  seethed  and  surged  around  this  place  after- 
ward, the  Twenty-seventh  was  the  first  Union  infantry  to  reach 


188  HISTORY    OF    THE 

it.  The  surrounding  country  is  rich  and  beautiful.  The  soil 
every  where  is  of  a  dark  reddish  color,  as  if  a  vast  brick-yard 
might  have  at  some  period  embraced  it  all.  The  town,  how- 
ever, had  few  of  the  marks  of  being  the  center  of  a  well-to-do 
population,  but  all  the  evidences  of  being  under  the  domina- 
tion of  slavery.  It  was  old,  dilapidated  and  unkempt.  The 
people  were  virulent  secessionists.  Reason,  conciliation  and 
justice  were  completely  gone.  There  was  said  to  be  one  ex- 
ception to  this,  in  the  Hon.  John  Minor  Bott,  an  ex-congress- 
man and  prominent  citizen.  When  we  were  at  Culpeper  the 
second  time  our  camp  was  near  his  house.  We  saw  consider- 
able of  him  and  while  he  seemed  greatly  grieved  that  the 
sections  should  be  at  war,  he  did  not  justify  the  South  in 
beginning  it. 

While  at  Culpeper,  in  imitation  of  William  the  Con- 
querer,  the  country  was  parceled  out  among  us.  Colonel 
Colgrove  was  Military  Governor  of  the  county,  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Morrison  was  Commander  of  the  Post,  Captain  Burge 
was  Provost  Marshal,  etc.,  etc.  Companies  E  and  K  were 
quartered  in  vacant  rooms  in  the  business  part  of  the  town, 
while  the  other  companies  pitched  their  tents  in  the  pleasant 
grounds  of  the  Military  Institute,  near  the  railroad  depot. 

One  of  the  days  spent  in  Culpeper  was  Sunday.  Sev- 
eral of  the  regiment  attended  services  at  the  Episcopal 
church.  Their  devotional  spirit  was  rudely  disturbed  and 
their  Sunday  temper  badly  ruffled  by  hearing  the  throne  of 
Grace  addressed  in  plain  English,  and  in  a  good,  round 
sonorous  voice,  in  behalf  of  Jeff  Davis  and  his  despisable  Con- 
federacy. Colonel  Colgrove  had  not,  up  to  that  time,  given 
as  much  attention  to  the  subject  of  prayer  as  it  doubtless 
deserves.  But  for  a  while  now  he  could  think  of  little 
else.  He  even  developed  into  something  of  an  ecclesiastic. 
He  became  possessed  with  the  idea  that  he  could  improve  the 
liturgy  of  the  church.  Just  the  course  pursued  in  the  case  is 
not  known,  but,  after  that,  one  paragraph  in  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  was  conspicuous  by  its  omission,  if  not  by 
its  absence. 

But  this  masquerading  with  high  sounding  titles  and 
reveling  in  unwonted  indulgences  was  to  have  an  ending.  On 
the  25th,  the  regiment  started  to  rejoin  the  brigade,  which  had 
moved  to  Little  Washington,  about  twenty-five  miles  north- 
west of   Culpeper.     The   first  day  we  marched  to  Woodville. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  189 

On  the  second  we  reached  our  destination,  passing,  on  the 
way,  the  camps  of  the  men  under  Seigel.  Some  of  them  were 
maneuvering  in  a  wood,  among  them  being  a  battery  of  small 
cannon,  mounted  on  the  backs  of  mules.  Soldiers,  with  their 
usual  readiness  and  lack  of  fastidiousness  as  to  names,  dubbed 
these  "  Jackass  Batteries."  They  were  somebody's  short  cut 
to  the  putting  down  of  the  rebellion,  but  proved  useless  when 
the  real  test  came.  One  of  the  troublesome  contingencies 
always  was  that  the  mule  might  take  it  into  his  head  to  turn 
around  suddenly,  about  the  time  the  gun  was  to  go  off. 

In  the  meantime  what  had  become  of  the  two  companies 
(C  and  D)  left  at  the  bridge  over  Hazel  river?  Figuratively 
speaking,  they  had  been  in  clover  all  the  time.  No  other 
troops  molested  them  ;  fishing  and  bathing  continued  good 
and  the  berries,  poultry  and  hogs  held  out  famously.  To  be 
thus  isolated  for  a  while  was  a  positive  luxury  in  itself.  If 
one  went  to  the  spring,  or  after  wood,  or  on  some  other  com- 
mon errand,  he  did  not  find  the  whole  country  overrun  with 
others  on  the  same  quest.  He  could  look  out  over  a  pleasant 
landscape  without  his  vision  taking  in  acres  upon  acres  of 
white  tents  and  a  myriad  of  blue  coats.  To  be  sure,  it  was 
comfortable  to  have  these  last  around  when  cannon  were 
booming  and  muskets  were  cracking.  They  did  not  in  the 
least  mar  the  landscape  at  such  a  time.  But  too  many  of 
them  did  become  a  little  nionotonous  under  some  other  con- 
ditions. 

As  usual,  the  natives  about  the  bridge  quickly  warmed 
to  the  boys.  No  amount  of  secession  prejudice  or  \"irginia 
pride  could  avail  against  the  youth,  courtesy  and  manliness  of 
the  Northern  soldiers.  A  few  days  sufficed  to  convert  the 
most  obdurate  into  cordial  acquaintances,  if  not  fast  friends. 
That  they  were  required  to  contribute  a  pig,  now  and  then, 
to  our  larder,  or  that  a  favorite  chanticleer  ever  and  anon  dis- 
appeared from  the  barnyard,  did  not  seem  to  disturb  their 
equanimity  in  the  least.  Still,  there  came  an  ending  On 
the  26th,  the  Major,  under  orders,  led  the  two  companies  back 
to  Amissville  and  Gains  Cross  Roads,  thence  to  Little  Wash- 
ington. The  march  was  uneventful,  except  some  disturbance 
raised  by  the  men,  one  in  particular.  The  suiter  had  come  up, 
and,  finding  the  two  companies  at  Hazel  river,  had  remained 
with  them,  instead  of  going  on  to  the  larger  part  of  the  regi- 


190  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ment.  Among  his  merchandise  was  something  in  long,  black 
bottles.  It  was  intended  mostly  for  officers  and  "  for  medical 
purposes  only."  When  some  of  the  men  got  hold  of  it,  it 
made  mischief,  as  it  did  sometimes  when  some  of  the  officers 
got  it.  The  Major  had  no  end  of  worry  in  maintaining  order 
in  the  ranks  and  in  getting  the  detachment  along.  It  ended 
finally  in  one  soldier  marching  at  the  end  of  a  rope,  in  rear  of 
the  wagon.  Arriving  at  Little  Washington  slightly  in 
advance  of  the  other  companies,  these  two  pitched  their  tents 
near  those  of  the  Sixteenth  Indiana  Battery.  The  other  com- 
panies arrived  a  few  hours  later.  This  battery  had  recently 
been  assigned  to  our  division  and  did  not  remain  long. 

It  is  hard  to  understand  why  the  Twenty-seventh  should 
be  required  to  march  to  this  place,  only  to  march  back 
again  within  a  few  days,  as  indeed  it  is  to  see  why  any  large 
army  should  occupy  such  a  position.  Little  Washington  was 
not  upon  any  route  likely  to  be  taken  by  the  enemy,  or 
upon  which  we  would  want  to  go  ourselves.  But  here  we 
were.  The  situation  was  very  sightly.  A  wide  stretch  of  open 
country  afforded  fine  views  in  all  directions.  To  the  west- 
ward the  Blue  Ridge  majestically  bounded  the  horizon,  and 
smaller  kobs  and  sugar  loaves  relieved  the  monotony  in  other 
places.  The  vast  fields  of  wheat,  which  had  just  been  cut  and 
put  in  shock  when  the  troops  arrived,  were  speedily  gathered 
by  them  and  used  for  bedding.  Everything  else  in  sight  was 
appropriated  in  the  same  way.  The  epidemic  of  sickness, 
spoken  of  by  others,  did  not  prevail  with  us.  Possibly  the 
diet  of  berries,  fresh  meat  and  vegetables,  at  Hazel  River  and 
Culpeper,  acted  as  a  preventive.  Possibly  also,  for  once,  we 
did  not  fall  under  the  censure  of  our  irrascible  brigade  com- 
mander ;  not  being  of  those  to  whom  he  refers  as  eating 
"  Every  miserable,  crabbed,  green  apple  they  came  across." 

The  weather  at  Little  Washington  was  torrid.  It  was  of 
that  sultry,  oppressive  kind  which  we  do  not  always  have, 
even  in  warm  summers.  We  drilled  a  great  deal,  mostly  in 
the  larger  field  maneuvers.  One  part  of  the  day  it  was  bat- 
talion, and  in  the  other,  brigade  drill.  At  some  of  our  battal- 
ion drills,  Gordon,  being  present,  drilled  the  regiment.  Really, 
the  writer  scarcely  recalls  another  instance,  during  the  year  or 
nearly  so  which  we  served  under  him,  when  he  betrayed  any 
^ign  of  trying  to  inspire  the  Twenty-seventh  with  any  regard 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  191 

for  himself,  or  showed  us  the  least  courtesy  or  consideration 
that  would  tend  towards  that  result.  During  these  battalion 
drills  he  did  speak,  not  fulsomely,  but  kindly  and  encourag- 
ingly, of  our  successes,  and  was  reasonably  forbearing  and 
patient  with  our  blunders.  And  we  all  felt  drawn  toward 
him.  No  telling  but  that  at  this  time,  or  almost  any  other,  he 
might  have  made  us  his  devoted  henchmen.  There  could  not 
have  been  an  equal  number  of  men  in  the  army  with  greater 
admiration  for  a  well  drilled-officer,  or  more  anxious  to  be 
well  drilled  themselves,  than  were  we,  after  a  little  experience 
of  army  life. 

We  all  remember  the  two  grand  reviews  held  here, 
though  perhaps  not  prominently.  We  never  did  idolize 
grand  reviews.  The  first  was  held  by  General  Banks,  most 
likely  in  preparation  for  the  other,  held  later  by  General 
Pope.  This  was  the  first  we  had  seen  of  Pope.  He  was  a  short, 
stout  man,  with  thick,  sandy  whiskers.  The  Greencastle  boys 
seemed  greatly  impressed  with  his  striking  resemblance  to  one 
of  their  citizens.  If  he  was  vain  and  self  conceited,  as  some  al- 
leged and  as  some  of  his  first  General  Orders  savored  of,  he  did 
not  betray  it  at  this  review.  He  was  modestly  uniformed  and 
equipped,  for  one  of  his  rank,  and  there  was  nothing  swell  or 
ostentatious  in  his  movements  or  bearing.  Gordon,  in  writing 
of  this  review,  takes  occasion  to  refer  to  us  as  "  That  incorrig- 
ible Twenty-seventh  Indiana."  If  all  he  alleges  was  true,  it 
would  mean  nothing.  If  the  whole  of  it  was  not  the  product  of 
a  disordered  brain,  it  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  most  of  his 
statements.  Another  fact  stated  by  him  in  the  same  connec- 
tion has  a  stronger  presumption  of  truth  in  its  favor.  It  is 
that  his  headquarters  were  at  this  time  the  daily  scene  of 
profane,  indecent  and  even  disloyal  utterances,  all  of  them 
unrebuked  by  him. 

Ex-President  Van  Buren  died  at  this  time,  and,  among 
other  things,  a  salute  consisting  of  the  regulation  number  of 
guns  at  sunrise  and  sunset  and  one  every  half  hour  through 
the  day,  was  fired  by  a  battery  close  to  our  camp.  In  con- 
nection with  it  the  conduct  of  an  old  darkey  cook,  attached  to 
one  of  the  companies,  was  very  ludicrous.  He  was  an  ex- 
tremely simple,  ignorant  old  fellow,  of  the  field-hand  type  of 
slaves.  He  was  probably  as  superstitious  also  as  his  most  re- 
mote ancestor  on  the  banks  of  the  Niger.     The  report  of  the 


192  HISTORY    OF    THE 

cannon  seemed  really  to  scare  him  almost  to  death.  No> 
dumb  animal  was  ever  more  completely  overcome  with  fear. 
All  day  long  he  lay  panting  and  trembling  in  his  tent,  part  of 
the  time  with  his  head  under  a  blanket.  It  was  rather  a 
pitiful  spectacle  to  go  around,  as  many  did,  and  take  a  look  at 
him. 

But  in  the  evening,  almost  famished  with  thirst  and 
not  hearing  a  gun  for  some  minutes,  he  ventured  to  the  spring 
at  the  edge  of  the  camp  for  water.  Just  as  he  had  filled  his 
vessels,  boom  !  went  a  gun.  Instantly  he  sprawled  himself 
flat  on  the  ground.  Then,  supposing  probably  that  the 
usual  interval  would  elapse  between  guns,  he  was  slowly  re- 
covering himself,  when  boom  !  went  another.  The  time  had 
come  for  the  evening  salute,  and  guns  were  fired  at  intervals 
of  possibly  a  minute.  At  the  second  gun  the  poor  old  fellow 
went  all  to  pieces.  Tub,  buckets  and  dipper  were  sent  flying 
in  all  directions,  and  he  threw  himself  down  flatter  than 
ever.  But  in  a  moment  he  began  a  series  of  runs,  falls,  dodges 
and  gyrations,  too  funny  to  be  described.  He  first  ran  to  a 
tree,  not  faraway.  After  hugging  this  for  a  while,  most  pas- 
sionately, he  ran  to  his  tent.  In  doing  this,  however,  he  per- 
formed so  many  antics,  and  was  so  evidently  sincere  in  his 
panic  and  demoralization,  that  the  whole  regiment  and  many 
from  other  commands,  went  wild  with  laughter  and  derision 
When  he  was  hugging  the  tree  he  might  have  felt  safe  there 
but  for  some  one  throwing  a  clod  of  dirt  among  the  limbs. 
As  it  broke  and  rattled  down  among  the  leaves,  hurtling  can- 
ister could  not  have  frightened  him  more.  He  acted  as  if  he 
thought  the  judgment  day  had  come. 

A  few  times  here.  General  Banks  maneuvered  his  entire 
corps.  It  was  a  novel  and  inspiring  sight,  one  we  never  saw 
before  or  afterward.  Few  locations  afforded  level  ground 
large  enough  for  handling  so  many  men  at  the  same  time. 
This  experience  developed  the  somewhat  curious  fact  that  the 
older  regiments,  ours  among  others,  did  not  understand  the 
bugle  calls.  In  our  regiment,  and  most  other  older  regiments 
with  which  we  were  associated,  the  bugle  was  never  used. 
Drill  commands  were  given  entirely  by  word  of  mouth,  and 
the  "  calls"  of  the  camp  were  beaten  entirely  upon  the  drum. 
General  Banks  had  a  voice  remarkable  for  its  clearness,  and 
he  could  be  heard  farther  than  most  men,  but  was  not  able  to 


t\ventv-seVj-:n  r  {   Indiana. 


V.ni 


reach  ten  or  twelve  thousand  men.      Ilence  he  used  the  bugle, 
though  under  some  difficulties,  with  us  and  others. 

We  received  two  months'  pay  at  Little  Washington.  The 
writer  still  has  a  piece  of  gold  (very  small)  which  he  received 
from  the  hands  of  the  pavmaster  there.  This  was  the  last 
time  gold  was  paid  to  us  while  in  the  armv — the  last  we  saw 
circulating  as  money  for  manv  vears. 


't  •■  -'■^.ZSi?' 


Col.-Sergt.  Lewis  D.  Payne,       Coup.  Jerome   Si.m.ms.  Co.  C. 
(Mortally  Wounded  at  Antietam.)  (Killed  at  Chancellorsvilie.) 


13 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


CEDAR    MOl'XTAIX. 

The  writer  first  saw  the  liglit  August  0,  1845.  W'itli 
slight  calculation  anyone  can  see  that  he  has  special  reasons 
for  remembering  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  narrative  to  explain  the 
movements  of  armies.  However,  an  angry  storm-clond. 
alreadv  larger  than  a  man's  hand,  was  fast  gathering  over  the 
one  with  which  we  were  connected.  The  armv  in  front  of 
Riclnnond,  under  McClellan,  having  withdrawn  to  the  James 
river,  orders  had  gone  forth  bringing  it  back  to  the  line  directly 
in  front  of  Washington.  This  left  the  enemv  free  to  move  in 
that  direction  himself.  He  did  not  delay.  His  advance 
towards  Culpeper  called  for  a  speedv  concentration  of  Pope's 
iirmy  at  that  place. 

We  left  Little  Washington.  \"irginia.  August  6.  Ordi- 
narilv  a  smart  day's  march  (twenty-five  miles)  woidd  have 
brought  us  to  Culpeper.  As  it  was  we  put  in  three 
davs  in  going,  and  suffered  much  at  that.  The  weather 
was  still  verv  oppressi^•e,  the  dust  rose  up  into  our  faces  in 
blinding,  suft'ocating  sheets,  and  it  appeared  that  wherever 
we  went  or  tried  to  go,  or  whatever  time  of  day  or  night  we 
started,  an  endless  train  of  wagons  was  in  our  way.  Surely, 
where  no  regard  whatever  is  paid  to  night  or  day,  just  a  little 
management  would  separate  troops  and  trains.  One  could 
start  earlier,  take  a  different  road  or  something.  But,  during 
the  first  year  of  the  war,  both  would  frequently  be  up  all 
niglit  and  inactive,  onlv  to  impede  and  harass  each  other  all 
the  following  day.  Wagon  trains  seemed  to  be  (jeneral 
Banks'  evil  genius.  Encumbered  with  them  throughout  most 
his  career,  he  finallv  had  his  last  and  most  important  cam- 
paign— the  one  up  Red  river — brought  to  untimely  defeat  and 
failure,  through  the  mischief  of  a  wagon  train,  long  drawn 
ou^. 


TWENTY— SEVENTH     INDIANA.  19-3 

Part  of  this  march  was  made  at  night.  While  we  escaped 
the  tierce  heat  of  the  sun  in  that  way,  ^ve  encountered  other 
evils  almost  as  bad,  the  principal  one  being  the  sore  lack  o;' 
water.  The  dust  was  almost  as  bad  at  night  as  through  the 
day,  and,  perhaps  without  seeing  it,  we  breathed  it  more 
freely.  Our  throats  soon  became  as  parched  as  the  Sahara 
desert.  But  the  wells  and  springs  could  not  be  found  in  the 
night,  and  we  were  obliged  to  go  without  water  largely.  \Ve 
rinallv  reached  Culpeper  at  II  w  M.,  August  S,  and  camped 
adjoining  the  town  on   the  west. 

The  next  day,  August  9,  we  started,  under  sudden  ordtrs, 
about  10  A.  M.,  passed  through  Culpeper  and  out  on  the  road 
leading  south.  There  was  something  mystifying  about  the 
situation.  We  had  heard  heavy  cannonading  and  were  evi- 
tlentlv  making  a  forced  march.  We  had  started  so  promptiv 
that  our  camp  had  been  left  almost  intact,  tents  standing  and 
teams  not  harnessed.  Yet.  in  passing  General  Pope's  head- 
quarters in  Culpeper.  we  saw  him  sitting  on  the  porch,  in 
apparent  unconcern,  with  staff  and  orderlies  lounging  around, 
taking  their  ease.  A  mile  or  two  beyond  the  town  we  passed 
a  full  division  of  troops  in  camp,  resting  serenely  in  their  tents 
or  standing  along  the  road  watching  us  go  by. 

Meantime  we  pressed  forward  on  quick  time,  with  long 
intervals  between  rests.  The  air  was  as  hot  as  a  bake  oven. 
■Going  directly  south,  near  the  noon  hour,  the  sun  beat  merci- 
lesslv  into  our  faces.  Our  small,  cloth  caps,  with  narrow 
visers,  were  poor  protection  for  our  heads  and  eves,  while, 
with  our  heavy,  regulation  tlress  coats  tightly  buttoned,  our 
bodies  seemed  to  be  a  furnace  of  fire.  Xot  more  than  one  or 
two  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were  sunstruck  and  fell  down  in 
convulsions,  but  scores  of  other  regiments  were  affected  in 
that  way.  As  we  passed  along  in  the  intense  heat  we  saw 
many  of  them  lying  on  the  ground,  frothing  at  the  mouth, 
rolling  their  eyeballs  and  writhing  in  painful  contortions. 

This  march  was  the  first  of  several  almost  incredible 
things  accomplished  that  day.  In  .\ugust,  1889,  a  week  after 
the  twenty-seventh  anniversary  of  the  battle.  Comrade  Bres- 
nahan  and  the  writer  drove  over  this  road  in  a  comfortable 
top  buggy.  It  was  not  an  extremely  hot  day.  though  a  warm 
one.  We  started  from  Culpeper  immediately  after  an  early 
dinner.  The  writer  was  near  the  exact  age  then  that  Colonel 
•Colgrove  had  been  on    that   former  August   day.  wl.en  he   led 


19(5  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  Twenty-seventh  out  to  its  baptism  of  blood.  Many  cir- 
cumstances and  associations  combined  to  bring  back  most 
vividly  that  never-to-be-forgotten  time.  One  incident  after 
another,  not  thought  of  for  years,  came  in  to  our  minds  as  dis- 
tinctly as  if  it  had  happened  only  the  week  before.  But  to 
realize  how  we,  loaded  and  dre«sed  as  we  had  been,  could 
stand  it  to  march  over  that  ground,  in  ranks,  with  so  manv 
others,  in  blinding  dust  and  in  heat  far  more  intense  and  op- 
pressive than  it  was  now,  climbing  those  long,  steep  hills  and 
rocky  ledges,  all  of  it  under  the  strain  of  impending  battle, 
with  its  many  exciting  contingencies,  was  more  than  we  were 
able  to  do.  It  seemed  to  both  of  us  like  some  dreadful,  real- 
istic dream,  apparently  true,  yet  actually  impossible.  The 
march,' with  its  attendant  conditions,  harrowing  and  horrible 
as  the  recollection  of  it  is,  w'as  not  a  dream,  however.  In 
what  must  have  been  a  very  short  time,  distance  considered. 
we  arrived  near  the  little  stream  known  as  Cedar  Run,  bor- 
dering what  was  to  be  the  battlefield,  eight  miles  from  the 
starting  point.  We  halted  on  high  ground,  just  before  reach- 
ing the  run,  and  hundreds  of  the  men  hastened  eagerly  on  to 
the  run,  to  drink,  bathe  their  throbbing  temples  and  fill  their 
canteens. 

This  Cedar  Run  is  only  a  small  stream,  not  over  a  rod 
wide.  At  this  season  of  the  year  the  water  in  it  is  whollvthe 
output  of  springs.  From  the  elevated  points  on  its  Culpep- 
per side  most  of  the  prominent  features  of  the  battle  field  can 
be  seen,  as  w'ell  as  some  of  the  ground  actually  fought  over. 
The  road  from  Culpeper,  though  its  general  direction  is  al- 
most due  south,  runs  here  southwesterly.  Beyond  the  run 
the  land  is  cleared  on  both  sides  of  the  road  for  some  distance 
back.  On  the  left  side,  in  particular,  there  is  no  timber  any 
where  near  to  obstruct  the  view.  On  that  side  the  country 
is  mostlv  an  undulating  valley  or  plain,  lower  than  the  coun- 
try surrounding  it.  Rising  out  of  this  plain,  a  mile  or  more 
beyond  the  run,  is  Cedar  mountain,  a  huge,  regular  mound  of 
rock,  generally  covered  with  soil,  in  shape  resembling  an  in- 
verted kettle.  .\s  one  looks  down  the  road  from  a  position 
above  Cedar  Run,  the  mountain  is  almost  diiectly  in  front  of 
him.  being  but  slightly  to  his  left.  It  is  cleared  on  the  sides 
observable  from  this  position,  well  up  to  the  top.  ^\>  we 
looked  at  it  that  day  clouds  of  smoke,  near  the  timber  line. 
marked  the  location  of  rebel   artillery,  which  was  keeping  up 


TWENTV-SEVEXTH    INDIANA.  197 

d  regular,  but  rather  harmless,  fire  upon  our  men,  while  they 
were  moving  into  position,  between  us  and  the  mountain. 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  showing  how  a  battle  may  get  its 
name,  that  this  elevation  does  not  seem  to  have  been  called 
Cedar  Mountain  previous  to  the  battle.  It  was  known  prin- 
cipallv,  if  not  wholly,  as  "  Slaughter's  Mountain,"  after  a 
man  or  family  residing,  or  that  had  resided,  in  the  vicinity. 
But  bv  confusing  the  name  of  the  insignificant  stream,  along 
which  our  line  of  battle  was  first  formed,  with  the  mountain, 
which  was  prominent  in  the  landscape,  our  newspaper  corres- 
pondents and  otiicers,  all  strangers  to  the  locality,  in  their 
dispatches,  announced  to  the  world  that  the  battle  of  "  Cedar 
Mountain  "  had  lieeii  fought.  So  it  has  stood  and  will  stand 
until  doom's  day. 

Another  fact,  scarcely  less  curious,  is  that  the  battle  was 
not  fought  upon  the  mountain  at  all  and  very  little  of  it  was 
fought  upon  its  slopes.  The  principal  part  of  the  contest 
was  waged  on  the  slopes  of  another  elevation,  almost  a  rival 
of  the  mountain  in  height,  and  in  the  valley  between  the  two. 
This  narrative  has  to  do  with  this  last,  rugged  ridge  entirely. 
Though  the  gifted  poet  has  pictured  the  Twenty-seventh  as 
••On  Old  Cedar  Mountain's  side,"  it  was  only  by  •'poetic 
license  "  that  he  could  do  so. 

The  Twenty-seventh  was  really  never  on  Cedar  Mountain 
or  its  sides.  This  ridge  in  which  we  are  so  deeply  interested 
is  to  the  right  of  the  road  over  which  we  had  come  to  the 
field:  in  fact,  the  road,  after  passing  over  one  end  of  the  ridge 
where  it  is  not  very  high,  bears  more  to  the  right  and  passes 
along  its  base,  between  it  and  Cedar  Mountain.  This  con- 
tinued curve  in  the  road  must  be  borne  in  mind  ;  for  while  it 
crosses  Cedar  Run  nearly  at  a  right  angle  it  soon  comes  to 
be  almost  parallel  with  it.  .So  that,  when  we  moved  to  our 
assigned  position,  though  we  appeared  to  be  going  directly 
awav  from  the  road,  we  did  not  get  as  far  away  from  it  as  it 
seemed  to  us. 

We  had  but  a  few  minutes  to  get  watf^r  and  take  breath, 
when  we  again  had  orders  to  fall  in,  and  marched  to  the 
right,  across  the  fields  to  the  Brown  farm  house.  This  wa> 
the  second  house  up  the  run  from  the  road.  The  first  and 
second  houses  then  located  in  that  direction  resembled  each 
other  in  many  particulars.  l-2ach  was  on  a  high  hill,  with  a 
deep  valley  or  swale  on  the  side  towards  the  road  ;  each  had  a 


108 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


sprincr.  in  a  clump  of  large  trees,  uiulerthe  hill  behind  it.  etc. 
Gordon  places  the  distance  from  the  road  to  the  Brown 
house  at  three-fourths  of  a  mile.  It  is  really  over  a  mile.  He 
also  speaks  of  a  ridge  extending  from  the  road  to  the  house. 
If  there  is  such  a  ridge  we  did  not  travel  upon  it.      All  of  those 


who  weie  afoot  that  day  will  doubtless  remember  the  t  wo 
deep  valleys,  scooped  down  to  the  water  level,  both  of  them, 
and  the  two  long,  steep  hills  which  had  to  be  climbed  before 
the  Brown  house  was  reached.  If  they  do  not  remember 
them  they  will  know  thev  are  there,  if  they  go  as  middle-aged 
men,  not  much  u<ed  of  late  to  such  exertion,  and  walk,  as 
Comrade  Bresnahan  and  the  writer  did,  from  the  road  to  the 
house  over  the  exact  route  taken  by  the  Third   Brigade.* 


*Miiny  maps  are  in  error  with  reference  to  this  house.  In  the  map  prepared  for  tlie 
coniniittee  on  tlie  contlact  of  the  war,  Gordon's  brigade  is  located  at  tlie  first  house  out 
from  the  road,  and  other  posiiions  arc  rhanKed  relatively. 


TWEN'IV-SEVEX'irr     INDIANA.  1011 

The  Twenty-seventh  first  halted  and  formed  in  line  on 
the  slope  in  front  of  the  Brown  house,  facing  towards  the  run, 
stacked  arms  and  broke  ranks.  But  almost  immediately 
came  orders  to  fall  in  and  mo\^  in  to  the  timber  in  rear  of  the 
house.  Whether  this  move  was  for  concealment  or  comfort 
does  not  appe  ir.      The  shade  was  certainly  grateful. 

From  what  has  already  been  said  about  the  relation  of 
the  main  road  and  this  little  stream  towards  which  we  were 
now  facing,  it  will  be  understood  that  we  we-e  facing  the  road 
also;  and,  as  has  been  said,  it  was  not  as  far  away  directly  in 
front  of  us  as  we  might  think  if  we  did  not  know  that  the 
road  curved  around  the  hill  towards  our  present  position. 
The  distance  is  perliaps  not  much  over  three-fourths  of  a  mile. 
But  that  space  is  all  occupied  by  tlie  ridge  before  mentioned 
as  rivaling  in  height  and  ruggedness  Cedar  Mountain  itself. 
Though  cleared  on  the  sides  bordering  the  road  the  side  im- 
mediately in  front  of  us,  as  well  as  the  whole  of  its  crown, 
was  heavily  wooded.  We  could  not  see  a  rod  beyond  the 
run.  Little  did  anv  of  us  comprehend  the  strength  of  the 
force  that  \vas  massing  beyond  that  timbered  ridge. 

While  we  were  waiting  in  rear  of  the  Brown  tarin- 
house  there  came  an  order  for  two  companies  from  the 
Twenty-seventh  to  act  as  flankers  on  the  right.  Companies 
C  and  F  were  detailed  for  this  dutv.  With  part  of  Company 
C  as  skirmishers,  they  moved  half  a  mile  or  so  to  the  right 
and  front.  There  they  were  ported  upon  a  hill,  commanding 
a  wide  stretch  of  country,  with  skirmishers  well  out  on  front 
and  Hanks.  This  was  done  under  the  personal  direction  of 
Colonel  Colgrove,  who  then  returned  to  the  regiment,  leav- 
ing Lieutenant  Bloss,  of  Company  F.  in  command. 

These  two  companies  were  not  recalled  when  the  regi- 
ment was  ordered  into  battle  :  so  thev  were  not  engaged. 
Neither  were  they  notified  when  our  army  abar.Juncd  it^ 
position  that  night.  \\'hen  it  was  ascertained  late  in  the. 
night,  by  the  companies  themselves,  that  they  were  far  inside- 
of  die  enemy's  line.  Lieutenant  Bloss,  ably  counseled  and 
iissisted  by  Lieutenant  Lee.  of  Company  C,  led  the  com- 
panies by  a  circuitous  route,  following  wood  roads  and  cut- 
ting across  fields,  safely  back  to  the  regiment.  It  wa>  by 
this  wi«;  and  timely  action  only  that  the  men  of  the  two 
companies  weie  saved  from  a  term  in  rebel  prisons.  In 
8iKikij}g   the   circuit    the  two  companies  were  more  thoroutrl, 


l'l)(l  HISTORY    OI-"    THE 

tliiin  tliey  planned,  and  passed  entirely  around  the  Hank  of 
the  Union  army.  Once  in  the  rear,  they  experienced  no  little 
ditticulty  in  getting  to  the  front  again.  Some  of  Siegel's 
men  had  come  up  and  were  acting  as  provost  guards.  Their 
duty  was  to  prevent  men  from  straggling  to  the  rear,  but  at 
first  they  were  as  much  set  against  men  going  one  way  as  an- 
other. Eventually  the  thought  seemed  to  work  its  way 
through  their  thick  skulls  that  our  men  could  not  disgrace  them- 
selves or  the  army  very  badly  by  going  to  the  front;  so  they 
suffered  them  to  pass. 

Six  companies  of  the  Third  Wisconsin  were  also  detached 
while  we  were  waiting  behind  the  Brown  house.  They 
were  sent  into  the  timber  on  the  hill  in  our  front,  and  were 
later  carried  into  action  with   another  brigade. 

There  had  been  regular  cannonading  through  most  of  the 
dav,  at  times  heavy.  One  large  cannon  that  was  fired  at  reg- 
ular intervals  by  the  rebels,  will  be  especially  remembered. 
Picket  firing  had  also  been  constant  since  our  arrival  on  the 
field. 

For  an  account  of  the  marshalling  of  the  forces  on  both 
sides,  and  the  main  outlines  of  the  battle,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  general  histories.  What  a  deluge  of  I'egret  and  disap- 
pointment, not  to  say  indignation  and  resentment,  rolls  in 
upon  us  even  yet,  when  we  reflect  upon  the  fact  that  just 
b.hind  that  wooded  hill  were  two  full  divisions  of  the  enemy. 
One  of  them,  almost  twice  as  large  as  Banks'  entire  available 
force,  was  well  posted,  on  ground  of  its  own  choosing,  and 
the  other  was  near  enough  to  be  in  ready  support.  Brigade  for 
brigade,  regiment  for  regiment  and  man  for  man,  the  enemy 
outnumbered  us  close  to  an  even  three  to  one.  Yet  within 
five  miles  was  one  of  the  largest  ami,  as  subsequent  service 
proved,  one  of  the  best  divisions  in  our  arm}',  resting  comfort- 
ably in  their  camps.*  Another  full  corps,  larger  than  Banks', 
might  be  on  the  ground  but  for  a  most  stupid  blunder  or  inten- 
tional delay,  on  the  part  of  its  commander. f  Even  the  men 
we  have  at  hand  are  not  to  be  used  with  intelligent  concert  of 
action.  Not  over  two-thirds  of  them,  possibly  not  over  one- 
half,  are  to  grapple  with  the  unequal  foe  at  any  one  time.  In 
our  case,  three  small  regiments  are  to  be  insanely  hurled  alone 
against  the  two  overmastering  divisions.     Under  such  hapless, 


*First  Division,  First  Cori>s. 
tSeigel's. 


T\VEXTV-SE\'ENTH     INIHANA.  201 

hopeless  and  mismanaged  conditions  must  we  tr\-  to  do  some- 
tiiing  for  our  deeply  imperiled  country. 

From  the  cleared  land  about  the  Brown  farm  house  we 
could  see  some  of  the  earlier  movements  of  our  forces.  Far 
to  our  left  we  saw  the  line  of  battle  as  it  advanced  in  mar- 
tial order  to  the  attack,  thouorh  it  passed  behind  the  point  of 
timber,  and  out  of  our  view,  before  it  opened  fire.  It  may 
have  been  owing  to  the  condition  of  the  atmosphere,  or  the 
configuration  of  the  ground,  but  musketty  scarcely  ever 
sounded  to  us  so  intense  and  wicked  as  it  did  at  Cedar  Mount- 
ain. During  Hooker's  fierce  onslaught  at  Aniietam,  or  vSickles' 
desperate  resistance  at  Gettysburg,  both  of  which  we  were 
near  enough  to  hear  very  distinctly,  the  volume  of  musketry 
was  greater.  It  was  evident  that  more  men  were  engaged. 
But  this  evening  at  Cedar  Mountain  the  filing  seemed 
unusuallv  energetic  and  terrifying.  Evidently  from  the  start 
the  combatants  were  at  close  quarters  and  in  plain  sight  of 
each  other,  and  many  considerations  urged  every  man  to  do  his 
utmost. 

Momentarily  the  Twenty-seventh  expected  orders  to  join 
in  the  furious  work.  Drawn  to  their  feet  to  see  as  much  as 
possible  of  the  awful  drama,  the  men  assembled  together  until, 
when  the  order  was  finally  given  to  fall  in.  most  of  them  were 
already  in  their  places.  A  moment  before  we  of  tlie  Twenty- 
seventh  were  called  for,  the  Second  Massachusetts  received 
orders  and  started  back  in  the  direction  we  had  lately  come. 
When  we  had  taken  arms  we  moved  brisklv  a  short  distance 
in  the  same  direction.  But  before  we  had  gone  far  an  order 
came  that  we  were  to  return  and  advance  straight  towartls 
what  had  l)een  our  front.  We,  therefore,  halted,  about-faced 
and  matched  back  to  the  point  from  which  we  iiad  started. 
There  we  formed  in  line  of  battle,  facing  towards  the  creek  and 
wooded  hill.  We  throw  out  guides  and  start  down  the  slope. 
"  Double  (juick  I"  The  order  comes  from  (jordon  and  is  re- 
peated by  Colonel  Colgrove. 

Now  begins  another  incredible  achievement.  How 
tiie  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  passed  down  that  >^lope, 
crossed  the  run,  climed  that  rugged,  uneven  and  overgrown 
hill,  forging  their  way  up  to  the  edge  of  the  wheat  field  be- 
yond the  crest,  all  at  a  double  cjuick,  with  any  one  able  to 
stand  on  his  feet  at  the  end  of  it,  is  more  than  incredible — it 
is  miraculous.      I'rom  the  starting  point  to  the  run  is  ten  rods. 


202  HISTORY    t)K    THE 

The  banks  of  the  run  are  from  six  lo  eight  feet,  almost  per- 
pendicuhir.  It  was  with  great  difHciilt}'  that  Comrade  Bres- 
nahan  and  the  writer,  on  our  visit  to  the  field,  could  cross  it  at 
all.  Five  or  six  rods  from  the  run  the  ascent  of  the  hi  11  be- 
gins. Where  the  left  wing  of  the  Twenty-seventh  struck  the 
slope  it  rises  at  an  angle  of  almost  forty-Hve  degrees.  All  the 
wav  up  the  surface  is  not  only  steep,  but  tnostly  very  broken.. 
Ravines,  gulches,  ledges  of  rock  and  innumerable  loose  stones,, 
large  and  small,  impede  the  progress  at  every  step.  Trees, 
and  low  bushes  stand  thick,  with  fallen  tops  and  limbs  and  a 
tangle  of  vines  and  briars  in  many  places,  next  to  impenetrable.. 

At  the  run  the  men  jumped,  slid  or  tumbled  recklessly 
down  to  the  water,  rushed  across  and  clambered,  lifted,  or 
pulled  each  other  up  the  opposite  bank.  Here  there  was  just 
the  briefest  halt  to  correct  the  alignment,  but  nothing  of  a 
breathing  spell.  At  this  point  it  was  that  the  broken  rem- 
nant of  the  six  companies  of  the  Third  Wisconsin  emerged 
from  the  woods.  A  moment  before  they  appeared  their 
colonel  had  ridden  up  and  appealed  to  the  Twenty-seventh, 
WMth  much  warmth,  to  go  to  their  assistance,  representing 
that  they  were  suffering  very  badly.  As  they  passed  around 
our  flanks  our  ascent  of  the  hill  began.  At  the  command 
"Forward,  double  quick!"'  the  line  moved  promptly  into  the 
jungle.  The  men  parted  the  bushes,  pushed  aside  the  limbs, 
crawled  under  or  broke  through  vines  and  briars,  steadied  or 
pulled  themselves  up  acclivities  by  seizing  hold  of  roots  and 
twigs,  dodged  around  trees,  leaped  the  washouts  and  stumbled 
over  stones.  With  wild  enthusiasm  and  mad  resolution  they 
overcame  a  thousand  obstacles. 

Colonel  Colgrove  in  his  report  estimates  the  distance 
from  the  run  to  the  wheat  held  at  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Com- 
rade Bresnahan  and  the  writer,  after  a  careful  survey,  found 
it  more  than  twice  that  far.  Think  of  it!  Such  a  distance, 
over  such  ground,  clothed  and  equipped  as  soldiers  then  were, 
w'ith  the  weather  unusually  hot,  even  for  an  August  afternoon 
in  a  Southern  climate.  In  going  carefully  over  in  retro- 
spect, the  entire  career  of  this  regiment,  standing  again  on 
every  important  spot  of  ground  where  it  made  a  record, 
endeavoring  t'>  judge  of  everything  by  the  C()nservati>m  of 
mature  years,  the  writer  was  impressed,  as  he  reviewed  the 
scenes  and  recalled  the  facts  of  this  unfortunate  day.  that  there 
was   a    physical    strain    and  burden  put    upon  those  who    were 


T\VENTV-SE\'KNT1I     INDIANA.  2()ii 

present  then  more  severe  and  tryin^^  than  at  any  other  time, 
and  far  more  so  than  often  falls  to  the  lot  of  men  anywhere. 

As  the  Twenty-seventh  advanced  through  the  woods  sev- 
eral individual  rebe's  were  encountered.  They  could  scarcely 
have  been  skirmishers,  as  they  did  not  seem  to  be  expecting  our 
our  approach.  So  dense  was  tiie  growth  of  timber  that  the  first 
recognition  from  either  side  was,  in  most  cases,  at  less  than  a 
rod  distant.  Some  surrendered,  others  ran  away,  and  still 
others  showed  tight.  One,  with  more  valor  than  discretion, 
seized  a  member  of  our  Company  A,  with  murderous  ferocity 
and  intent.  Another  member  of  Company  A,  comprehend- 
ing the  situation,  instantly  shot  the  aggressor  dead,  the  ball 
scattering  his  brains  over  the  one  assailed. 

Red  in  the  face,  panting  for  breath,  almost  ready  to  drop 
down  with  heat  and  fatigue,  the  advance  struck  the  fence 
bordering  the  wheat  field,  without  knowing  it  was  there. 
Colonel  Colgrove,  in  his  report,  well  says  the  regiment  did 
net  all  reach  this  position  at  the  same  time.  Not  only  had 
the  left  wing  fallen  behind  the  right,  but  many  individuals 
also,  for  various  reasons,  had  found  it  impos-;ible  to  maintain 
their  places  in  the  line  and  came  up  later.  That  there  would 
be  more  or  less  disorder  is  self-evident.  It  was  impossible  for 
even  line  officers  to  see  their  men  or  do  much  in  the  way  of 
keeping  them  in  place  or  directing  their  movements.  Much 
of  the  time  not  more  than  a  dozen  or  twenty  men  ot  the  regi- 
ment cou  d  be  seen  by  any  one  person.  Anything  like  touch- 
ing elbows,  or  dressing  on  the  colors,  or  dressing  anywhere, 
was  out  of  the  question. 

Towards  the  last,  a  part  of  the  regiment,  embracing  the  colorS 
and  those  near  them,  fell  into  a  wood  road  or  track,  along 
which  thev  passed  with  greater  ease.  The  two  llanks,  how- 
ever, were  still  very  much  hampered  and  delayed.  For  a  time 
it  v^^as  not  understood  by  all  that  a  halt  was  to  be  made  at  the 
fence.  A  number  of  our  men  passed  on  into  the  tield.  but  re- 
turned to  the  line  at  once  when  they  comprehended  what  the 
order  was. 

This  wheatfield  was,  as  has  been  said,  on  the  opposite 
slope  of  the  hill  from  that  up  which  we  had  come.  Our  posi- 
tion was  immediately  at  its  right  hand  corner  with  respect  to 
our  advance.  At  that  point  it  was  not  much  over  c^ne  hun- 
dred yards  wide,  but  rapidly  increased  in  width  towards  our 
left.      The   wheat   had   been  cut  and  stood    in   shocks,  which 


:?()4  IIISTOKV     Ol"    THE 

dotted  the  field  quite  thickly.  The>e  are  referred  to  as  *'  wheat 
stacks  '"  in  various  reports.  Along  the  side  of  the  field  oppo- 
site us  there  was  timber,  as  alonf(  the  end  also  to  our  right, — 
though  this  last  had  bet  n  cut  or  cleared  sometime  and  had  not 
grown  very  tall  as  yet. 

No  sooner  liad  the  Twenty-seventh  reached  this  Held 
thaii  a  heavv  fire  was  opened  upon  it  by  the  rebels  and  we  at 
once  began  to  return  as  good  as  we  w^ere  getting.  Yet  many  of 
our  men  did  not  clearly  understand  the  situation  :  neither  did 
a  part  of  the  enemy.  ]t  must  have  been  that,  as  we  emerged 
from  the  timber  so  suddenly,  they  did  not  all  quite  know  who 
we  were.  We  had  started  with  the  usual  vociferous  cheer- 
ing, but  during  the  long,  exhausting  assent  this  was  so  nearlv 
suppressed  that  our  arrival  upon  the  scene  was  in  part  a  sur- 
prise. Upon  no  other  theory  can  several  things  be  explained. 
Some  of  the  members  of  the  Twenty-feventh.  who.  as  before 
mentioned,  pressed  forward  some  distance  into  the  wheat  field, 
there  exchanged  commonplace  greetings  with  members  of  a 
A'irginia  rebel  regiment  and  parted  from  them  and  returned 
to  the  ranks  of  their  own  regiment,  without  being  challenged. 
The  line  of  the  enemy,  which  Colonel  Colgrove  mentions  as 
being  drawn  across  the  field  almost  at  right  angles  with  our 
line  on  the  left,  would  not  have  been  there,  or.  being  there, 
would  not  have  remained  as  long  as  it  did.  if  matters  had 
been  clear.  We  saw  other  bodies  of  the  enemy  also  wdiose 
movements  were  very  strange,  except  upon  this  theory.  But. 
above  all,  in  no  other  way  can  the  fact  be  accoimted  for  that 
we  were  not  at  once  completely  overwhelmed.  There  were 
enough  of  the  enemy  easily  at  hand  to  have  accomplished 
tliis  almost  at  a  breath. 

The  fire  to  which  we  were  exposed  from  the  start  soon 
increased.  One  of  the  first  volleys  seemed  to  mow  down  a 
dozen  or  more  men  of  Company  I,  which,  in  the  absence  of 
Company  C,  was  acting  as  color  company.  All  along  the 
line  men  were  trailing  fast.  In  addition  to  the  fire  which 
came  from  the  fence  and  woods  across  the  field,  men  were 
concealed  behind  the  wheat  shocks  in  the  field  and  had  a 
deadly  range  upon  us.  Colonel  Colgrove  meiitions  in  hi> 
report  that  the  enemy's  fire  at  this  juncture  was  particularly 
savage.  TIk?  men  of  the  regiment  were  also  getting  in  good 
work.      Almost    every    one    of  us    had    been    accustomed    to 


T  W  E  N  T  V  -  S  E  \'  I-:  N  r  I  r     1  X  U I  A  .\  A  . 


•2()~> 


handling  ritles  from  childliood  and   we   were   there   for  a  pur- 
pose.     All  that  was  needed  was  to  show  us  an  enemy. 

These  conditions  had  continued  for  some  minutes  when  a 
report  gained  wide  circulation  and  credence  in  the  regiment 
that  there  was  some  dreadful  mistake,  and  that  we  were  firing 
upon  our  own  men.  Such  a  fact  may  excite  surprise  at  this 
date,  but  it  was  a  somewhat  common  occurrence  in  the  earlier 


<*.;f^'V' 


Lieut.   G.   W.   Ree;d,  Co.   I. 

(Killed  at  Cedar  Mountain). 


part  of  the  war.  It  is  claimed  by  members  of  the  Twcntv- 
seventh,  that  the  report  here  was  first  shouted  across  bv  the 
enemy  on  our  left.  It  is  not  wholly  improbable  that  this  wa> 
true,  and  that  those  from  whom  the  statement  came  were  sin- 
cere, believing  that  we  belonged  to  their  side.  It  was  a  time 
of  confusion  and  misconception.  Uniforms  and  ilags  were 
not  as  clear  distinguishing  marks  as  might  be  supposed. 
Plastered  with  dust,  both  uniforms  looked  alike,  and  tiiere 
were  so  many  state  Hags  and  standards  carried  at  this  date,  on 
both  sides,  that  few  had  yet  learned  to  know  one  from  the 
other. 

-Vt  about  this  stage  of  the   battle,  one  of   our  ollicers  s;iw 


:206  HISTORY     OF     11  IK 

for  the  tirst  time  the  reofular  Confederiite  !?tates  flag — the 
"Stars  and  Bars."  It  was  carried  bv  a  force  which  was 
passing  from  left  to  right  across  our  front.  He  had  seen  the 
English  liag  Hying  over  vessels  in  New  York  harbor  and 
mistook  this  to  be  one.  So  he  hastened  to  the  Colonel  with 
the  report  that  we  were  in  danger  of  being  flanked  on  the 
right,  by  a  column  carrying  the  English  flag.  General  Gordon 
being  near,  by  Colgrove's  orders,  the  officer  carried  the  re- 
port to  him  also.  It  seems  that  the  Colonel  likewise  consulted 
Gordon  about  the  alarm  that  we  were  firing  and  being  fired 
upon  by  our  own  men.  Gordon  was  satisfied  that  the  men  in 
our  front  were  all  our  enemies,  but  to  make  sure  rode  for- 
ward to  see.  lie  was  instantlv  treated  to  a  volley  that  it  was 
a  miracle  did  not  hit  him.  This,  however,  was  at  the  right 
of  the  regiment  and  a  limited  number  saw  it.  Farther 
to  the  left,  firing  had  slackened  among  our  men,  and  be- 
fore matters  could  be  set  right,  a  retrograde  movement  be- 
gan. It  was  not  precipitate,  only  a  shrinking  back  into  the 
timber  to  escape  a  fire  which  so  many  thought  must  not 
be  returned.  But  once  immersed  in  the  dense  undergrowth,  all 
possibility  of  control  by  any  one  was  lost.  No  one  could  be 
seen  or  heard  by  above  ten  others  at  any  one  time.  Nothing 
was  po-sible  therefore  but  to  direct  the  movement  back  to 
some  opening  or  cleared  space,  where  the  men  could  be  made 
to  understand  the  situation.  Such  a  place  was  found  about 
one  hr.ndred  and  fifty  or  two  bundled  yards  back,  but  to  the 
left  of  our  first  line  of  advance.  There  the  men  were  quickly 
and  easily  rallied  and  reorganized.  When  definitelv  assured 
that  there  was  no  mistake  about  all  at  the  wheat  field  being 
enemies  except  the  three  regiments  of  our  brigade,  the  men 
were  eager  to  return.  The  command  "Forward,"'  was  re- 
ceived with  hearty  and  prolonged  cheers. 

On  this  second  advance  the  Colonel  halted  the  regiment 
for  a  moment,  just  before  coming  under  fire.  Trust  Colonel 
Colgrove  always  to  do  the  right  thing  in  a  battle,  if  left  to 
himself.  The  line  was  thus  re-adjusted,  the  men  caught  their 
breath  and  all  steadied  themselves  for  the  ordeal.  Again,  at 
the  edge  of  the  wheat  field,  cool,  resolute  and  effective,  but 
with  urgent  haste  the  firing  was  resumed.  The  enemy  had 
not  summoned  a  larger  force  in  the  interval,  but  had  evidently 
come  to  an  understanding  among  themselves  and  were  better 
prepared    to    receive   us.      No  longer  moving  about,  but  care- 


TWENIV -SEVEN  Til     INDIANA.  i?07 

fiillv  posted  around  the  field,  slieltered  behind  the  fences  and 
ini^hes,  they  returned  our  fire  and  our  ranks  were  rapidly 
tliinning  for  a  second  time.  Gordon  says  the  time  spent  by 
his  brigade  on  the  line  at  the  wheat  field  was  at  least  thirty 
minutes.  If  this  is  not  too  low  an  estimate,  it  would  not 
allow  more  than  fifteen  minutes  for  the  Twenty-seventh  at 
the  field  this  second  time.  As  half  the  total  loss  was  inflicted 
now.  its  size  indicates  how  rapid  and  accurate  the  eneniy"> 
Hre  was. 

But  while  the  eneni}-  was  pouring  upon  us  such  a  deluge 
of  missies,  he  made  little  show  of  advancing.  There  was  no 
reason  for  thinking  that  we  could  not  hold  our  ground.  Sud- 
denly, however,  those  on  ou:  extreme  right  discovered  a  for- 
midable force  emerging  from  the  underbrush  squarely  in  that 
direction.  We  now  know  that  this  was  the  two  full  regiments 
of  Pender's  brigade,  thrown  around,  undercover,  expressly  to 
strike  Gordon's  line  in  fiank.  Though  this  was  a  common  trick 
with  the  enemy,  no  provision  had  been  made  to  guard  against 
it.  Heroic  Lieutenant  Van  Arsdol,  of  Company  A,  was  the 
first  to  sight  this  new  foe.  Promptlv  calling  the  attention  of  his 
own  men  and  ordering  them  to  turn  their  fire  upon  it.  he 
hastened  to  apprise  Colonel  Colgrove.  The  Colonel  says  in  his 
report  that  when  he  arrived  at  the  right  of  the  line,  the  ad- 
vane  of  this  flanking  column  was  within  twenty  steps  of  his 
position.  How  astonishing  that,  instead  of  promptly  ordering 
the  regiment  away,  the  fearless  old  fighter  coolly  directed  his 
two  right  companies  to  change  front  and  offer  resistance.  Com- 
pany A  instantly  moved  in  obedience  to  the  order,  but  while 
Company  D  was  in  the  act  of  doing  so.  the  enemy  had  come 
up  and  blazed  a  withering  volley  into  the  faces  of  our  men  on 
the  right.  Following  the  volley  they  charged  literallv  into 
the  midst  of  them  and,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  demanded 
their  surrender.  The  Colonel's  horse  was  hit  by  the  volley, 
a  musket  ball  grazed  the  Colonel's  scalp,  carrying  away  a  lock 
of  his  hair,  while  others  ventilated  his  clothing  in  different 
places.  A  large  number  of  the  other  officers  and  men  also 
went  down,  many  of  them  to  rise  no  more. 

Resistance  was  not  abandoned  at  once,  but  to  vield 
ground  against  such  an  unequal  attack,  was  unaxoidable. 
While  the  right  was  thus  being  doubled  back,  men  stood  and 
shot  at  their  aggressors  at  less  than  two  vards  range.  Thev 
fired  from  behind  trees    until,  with    fierce    oaths  anil  impreca- 


208 


HISTOKV    OF    THE 


tions,  their  surrender  was  demanded  and  when  fired  at  in  re- 
turn, the  powder  burned  their  faces  and  singed  their  hair.  It 
was  reallv  a  hand-to-hand  encounier  that  was  carried  on  at 
this  point. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Morrison,  who  was  at  his  post  on  tlie 
left,  savs  Gordon,  on  being  informed  by  him  that  the  right 
had  been  turned,  ordered  hi:Ti  to  withdraw  the  regiment  by 
the  left  flank.  So  the  hopeless  contest  was  abandoned.  The 
line  of  retreat  was  again  to   the    right   of   the  line  of  advance 


Ed  Haht,   Co.   C. 


Capt.    Box,   Co.   D. 


The  movement  was  deliberate  and  while  it  was  impossible  to 
preserve  formations,  the  men  kept  together  and  at  the  first 
opening  the  files  were  reformed.  Here  we  were  joined  by  the 
other  two  regiments  of  the  brigade  and  marched  back  to  the 
hill  from  which  we  had  set  out. 

The  regiments  to  the  left  of  Ciordon's  brigade  had  fared 
no  better  than  his.  Those  wdiich  we  had  gone  in  to  support 
had  been  defeated  and  driven  back  before  our  arrival.  The 
fighting  of    our  brigade  therefore,  closed   the    buttle.      When 


TWENTY-SEVKNTH    INDIANA.  209 

the  brigade,  or  what  was  left  of  it,  reached  the  Brown  farm 
house  it  was  fairly  dark.  The  enemy  eagerly  pursued  us  into 
the  woods,  but,  instead  of  finding  us,  lost  themselves.  In 
other  words,  they  became  so  disorganized  and  confused  that 
they  veered  from  their  course  and  eventually  came  out  on  the 
same  side  they  had  entered. 

Conditions  in  and  around  the  Brown  cottage  were  greatly 
changed  from  what  they  had  been  when  we  first  arrived 
there.  Most  of  the  wounded  able  to  walk,  and  those  who 
had  been  helped  back,  were  here  and  many  of  the  dead  had 
been  carried  here  also.  The  house,  yard  and  much  of  the 
surrounding  space  were  thickly  covered  with  these  dead  and 
wounded  comrades.  Our  three  noble  regiments,  which  had 
come  to  this  point  so  staunch  and  eager  for  the  fray,  were 
greatly  reduced  in  numbers.  All  too  many  had  made  the  ex- 
treme sacrifice  of  the  patriot ;  they  had  died  for  the  flag. 
They  had  fallen  as  only  brave  men  and  heroes  fall,  with 
lofty  courage  and  their  faces  to  the  foe.  A  still  larger 
number  had  been  wounded,  many  of  them  to  linger  for  awhile 
in  acute  suffering  and  then  join  their  fellows  in  the  Great 
Beyond.  A  large  proportion  of  the  badly  wounded  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  list  of  prisoners  not  wounded 
was  also  quite  large,  though  not  especially  large  from  the 
Twenty -seventh. 

Being  relieved,  after  a  little  time,  by  fresh  troops,  we 
were  ordered  to  take  up  a  position  farther  to  the  rear.  That 
position  proved  hard  to  find.  Along  the  main  road,  on  both 
sides,  the  enemy  pressed  his  advantage  and  our  forces,  for 
one  reason  or  another,  yielded  ground.  Under  orders,  the 
Twenty-seventh  moved  from  place  to  place,  until  late  in  the 
night.  During  this  time  there  was  a  fierce  artillery  duel  be- 
tween the  batteries  of  the  two  armies.  If  all  questions  of 
danger  could  have  been  removed  it  would  have  been  an  in- 
teresting  sight.  But,  in  addition  to  the  usual  exposure  in 
such  cases,  the  aim  of  a  Union  battery  was  misdirected  for  a 
time  and  the  shells  from  it,  as  well  as  those  from  the  enemy, 
fell  among  us.  For  once  we  needed  someone  to  save  us  from 
our  friends.  We  were  eventually  halted  in  a  piece  of  timber, 
at  the  east  side  of  the  Culpeper  road,  something  over  a  mile 
in  rear  of  the  battlefield.  It  was  long  past  midnight  when 
we  reached  this  position.  Needless  is  it  to  say  that  with 
those  who    remained,  nature  had  about  come   to    the   extreme 

14 


210  HISTORY    OF    THE 

limit  of  its  endurance.  Though  we  had  had  no  supper  and 
next  to  no  dinner,  and  were  suffering  dreadfully  for  water, 
we  dropped  down  in  a  heap  among  the  leaves  and  were 
almost  immediately  lost  in  slumber.  The  battle  was  not 
renewed   by  either  side. 

It  seems  again  an  unpleasant  necessity  to  devote  some 
brief  space  to  our  irrepressible  brigadier.  He  has  greatly 
improved  since  the  battle  of  Winchester  and  reall}'  does  hand- 
somely now,  considering  the  man.  His  official  report  of  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Mountain  was  written  at  the  time  and  given 
to  the  newspapers,  but  did  not  reach  the  war  department 
until  many  years  later.  Though  manifestly  addressed  to  the 
ears  of  the  Massachusetts  public  it  deals  more  justly  and  con- 
siderately with  the  Twenty- seventh  than  might  have  been 
expected.  If  there  is  anything  objectionable  in  the  report  it 
is  the  following  sentence:  "  As  I  approached  the  opening, 
the  enemy,  from  his  concealed  position,  received  me  with  a 
rapid  and  destructive  fire  ;  but  my  infantry,  particularly  the 
Second  Massachusetts  and  Third  Wisconsin,  coolly  took  their 
assigned  position  and  replied  with  commendable  coolness." 
This  reads  fairly  well,  though  it  may  have  a  sting  concealed 
in  it.  In  the  light  of  the  facts,  however,  nothing  remains  of 
it  except  its  faulty  rhetoric  and  its  spirit,  whatever  that  is. 

The  facts  are  that  the  Second  Massachusetts  was  not  fired 
iipon  at  all,  and  did  not  return  any  fire,  for  a  considerable 
time  after  reaching  the  opening  and  that  the  Third  Wisconsin 
did  not  reach  the  opening  itself  for  a  considerable  time  after 
the  other  two  regiments.  As  to  the  Second,  Gordon  himself, 
in  his  book,  "Brook  Farm  to  Cedar  Mountain,"  says,  after 
relating  the  movement  up  to  the  wheat  field,  "As  I  rode  up 
to  the  Second  Massachusetts,  I  was  amazed  that  no  firing  was 
igoing  on.  *  *  *  *  '  Why  don't  you  order  your  regiment 
to  fire,'  I  shouted  to  Colonel  Andrews  of  the  Second.  'Don't 
see  anything  to  fire  at,'  was  the  cool  response."  These  are  the 
exact  facts  as  Gordon  might  have  stated  them  in  his  official 
report.  So  much  for  the  Second  Massachusetts  being 
"  received  by  a  rapid  and  destructive  fire  "  as  it  "  approached 
the  opening." 

As  to  the  Third  Wisconsin,  we  have  seen  that  the  rem- 
nants of  six  of  its  companies,  having  been  in  the  fight  along 
with  another  brigade,  were  just  coming  out  of  the  woods  as 
we  of  the  Twenty-seventh    were   pushing   in   to  them.     The 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  211 

writer  has  seen  no  definite  statement  as  to  how  much  time 
was  consumed  in  rallying  these  men  and  uniting  them  with 
the  other  companies,  before  a  forward  movement  was  possible. 
But  the  Twenty-seventh  having  gone  much  of  the  distance  at 
a  doublequick,  really  "  on  the  run,"  as  Gordon  says,  it  was 
impossible  for  the  Third  to  reach  the  line  of  battle  until  later. 
It  is  clear,  in  fact,  that  Gordon  knew  nothing  definite  about 
the  Third  Wisconsin.  In  his  report  he  says,  "  Colonel  Ruger 
was  rallying  his  men."  In  his  book  he  says,  "  I  rallied  and 
gathered  up  the  Third  Wisconsin."  In  both  report  and  book, 
he  plainly  states  that  the  position  of  the  Third  in  the  line  at 
the  wheatfield  was  on  the  right  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Indi- 
ana, whe  1  it  was  really  on  the  left  of  our  regiment.  Hence, 
when  Gordon  says  that  "  Particularly  the  Second  Massachu- 
setts and  Third  Wisconsin"  "coolly  took  their  places  and 
replied  with  commendable  coolness,"  under  the  destructive 
fire  that  greeted  his  brigade  upon  its  arrival  at  the  wheatfield, 
he  takes  the  pains  to  specify  one  regiment  that  struck  it  where 
no  enemy  was  in  sight,  and  another  that  had  not  yet  arrived 
there,  if  indeed  he  ever  knew  when  it  did  arrive  or  where  it 
was.  Not  much  for  Gordon  to  say !  Slight  circumstances 
like  these  should  not  stand  in  his  way  when  he  wanted  to  pass 
a  compliment.     Not  him  ! 

Now,  while  one  regiment  was  quietly  standing  on  its 
arms,  not  seeing  anything  to  shoot  at,  and  the  other  was  still 
behind,  neither  of  them  through  any  fault  of  its  own,  here  is 
what  the  other  regiment  had  encountered  "on  approaching 
the  opening."  First  from  Colonel  Colegrove's  report  :  He 
says  :  "We  had  scarcely  reached  the  opening  before  the  ene- 
my opened  a  very  heavy  fire  upon  us.  *  *  *  The  enemy 
seemed  to  be  posted  in  great  numbers  in  the  woods  in  our 
front,  across  the  field  and  within  rifle  range.  They  also  had 
skirmishers  thrown  forward  and  screened  behind  the  stacks  of 
wheat  in  the  field,  on  my  right  and  nearly  at  a  right  angle 
with  my  line.  The  enemy  also  had  a  regiment  drawn  up  in 
line  of  battle,  the  line  extending  nearly  across  the  field,  and 
facing  toward  my  left.  This  regiment  had  a  cross-fire  upon 
me." 

Next,  from  Gordon  himself.  He  does  not  disdain  the 
truth  when  it  suits  his  end.  After  giving  the  number  of  his 
brigade  at  fifteen  hundred  and  estimating  the  enemy  avail- 
able at  this  point  at  eight  thousand,  he  says,  again  in  "  Brook 


212  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Farm  to  Cedar  Mountain  "  :  "It  will  be  seen  that  the  woods 
opposite  must  have  been  literally  packed  with  rebels,  and 
that  they  must  have  extended  far  beyond  our  right  to  have 
enabled  even  one-third  of  the  men  to  get  to  the  front.  This  was 
the  situation  as  we,  of  all  Banks'  boys,  when  the  light  was 
growing  dim  on  that  fatal  August  night,  opened  fire  on  Arch- 
er's brigade,  as  his  troops,  disdaining  cover,  stood  boldly* out 
among  the  wheat  stacks  in  front  of  the  timber.  As  may  be 
imagined,  our  position  was  an  exposed  one.  It  is  almost  in 
vain  to  attempt  to  convey  an  impression  of  the  fierceness  of 
that  fire.  As  to  Colonel  Colgrove,  commanding  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Indiana,  to  the  right  of  the  Second  Massachusetts, 
the  enemy  seemed  to  be  all  around  him — in  his  front  and  on 
his  right  in  a  dense  growth  of  underbrush,  and  on  his  left,  in 
line  extending  nearly  across  the  wheat  field.  From  front  and 
flank,  direct  and  cross,  came  this  terrible  fire  upon  the 
Twenty-seventh  Indiana." 

Thus  the  record  of  the  Twenty-seventh  at  Cedar  Mount- 
ain is  made  up.  The  surviving  members  have  the  proud 
consciousness  of  having  tried  to  do  their  duty,  and  they  are 
heartily  willing  to  submit  their  conduct  and  movements, 
along  with  others  on  that  ill-fated  and  unsavory  field,  not 
omitting  those  of  Gordon  himself,  to  the  candid  judgment  of 
an  unprejudiced  public.  Especially  are  they  willing  to  leave 
their  case  in  the  hands  of  all  true  soldiers,  everywhere.  Not 
enlisted  men  only,  but  intelligent  soldiers  of  experience,  of 
all  ranks.  All  such  who  study  it  will  find  that  this  battle 
was  largely  a  wild,  frenzied,  freakish  affair,  as  were  others  of 
this  war,  fought  under  leaders  of  no  more  military  ability  and 
experience  than  those  in  control  here.  It  was  foolishly  pre- 
cipitated, through  a  stupid  misconception  of  orders,  if  not  in 
willful  disregard  of  the  same.  Whether  the  one  or  the  other, 
it  was  the  result  of  jealousy  and  offended  pride.  In  many  of 
its  details  the  battle  resembled  more  the  hasty,  reckless, 
though  daring,  conduct  of  a  mob,  headed  by  ignorant,  hair- 
brained  fanatics,  than  the  wisely  conceived  and  regularly 
executed  movements  of  an  organized  army.  Gordon  himself 
tells  of  a  brigadier-general  who,  absent  from  his  own  com- 
mand, during  the  progress  of  the  battle,  rode  up  to  troops 
belonging  to  another  brigade  and,  waving  his  sword  and 
shouting  hysterically,  said  :  "  Charge,  men  !  Charge  across 
the  field!"     Other  officers  of  high  rank,  occupying  positions- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  213 

of  great  responsibility,  who  should  have  been  calm  and 
resourceful,  galloped  furiously  around  among  the  soldiers, 
saying  ridiculous  things  and  giving  orders,  the  import  of 
which  they  had  not  considered  in  the  least. 

Along  with  the  rest,  attention  is  directed  to  the  conduct 
of  this  man  Gordon  himself  It  was  by  his  orders  and  under 
his  supervision  that  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were 
frantically  and  cruelly  forced  up  that  steep,  rough,  overgrown 
incline,  a  full  half  mile  at  a  dead  run,  in  such  unusual,  sufTo- 
cating  heat.  Who  that  knows  anything  would  not  know  that 
that  was  over-taxing  their  endurance,  overheating  their  blood 
iind  preparing  them  for  misunderstanding  and  confusion? 
Moreover  this  foolish,  untimely  rush  was  ordered  without 
knowing  himself,  or  giving  the  officers  and  men  under  hini  any 
chance  to  know,  where  the  enemy  would  likely  be  encount- 
ered, or  anything  as  to  their  numbers  ;  without  any  attempt 
at  communication,  or  concert  of  action,  between  the  different 
regiments  of  his  command  ;  without  waiting  for  one  to  come 
into  line  with  the  others,  and  not  knowing  to  the  day  of  his 
death  when  it  came  in,  or  where  its  position  was,  and  per- 
mitting another  to  miss  its  destination  and  remain  out  of  the 
fight  until  later.  No  skirmishers  were  sent  in  advance  and, 
more  fatal  than  all  else,  no  precautions  were  taken  to  guard 
against  an  attack  in  flank,  though  Jackson  had  resorted  to 
this  trick  in  every  battle  before  this. 

We  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  battlefield  of  Cedar 
Mountain  for  three  days,  then  quietly  marched  back  to  our 
camp  at  Culpeper.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  day  following  the 
battle  arrangements  were  made,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  by 
which  a  detail  went  from  each  regiment  to  bury  the  dead. 
The  enemy  nominally  held  possession  of  the  field,  but  really 
had  withdrawn  his  army  behind  the  Rapidan  river. 

No  exact  data  are  at  hand  indicating   where  the  dead  of 

It  has  (leveloped  in  recent  years  that  Gordon  was  at  this  time  guilty  of  what  was 
not  only  a  piece  of  mischief  anil  treachery  against  the  Twenty-seventh,  but  was  really  a 
henious  crime  against  military  law.  In  an  interview  with  our  adjutant,  who  was  our 
colonel's  son,  lie  said  in  substance  that  Colonel  Colgrove  was  to  be  pitied.  He  did  not 
have  the  right  kind  of  material  out  of  which  to  make  a  good  regiment.  His  men  were 
naturally  insubordinate  and  cowardly.  At  this  same  juncture  Gordon  was  condoling  with 
other  ollicers  in  the  Twenty-seventh  and  saying  to  them  that  all  the  trouble  in  the  regi- 
ment was  traceable  to  the  colonel.  If  the  regiment  only  had  a  diflerent  commander 
nothing  would  stand  in  the  way  of  its  reaching  the  top.  In  fact,  he  expressed  something 
bordering  closely  on  to  this  last  sentiment,  to  the  Twenty-seventh  publicly  on  at  least  one 
occasion.  In  other  words,  here  was  a  brigade  eouimander  sowing  seeds  of  discord,  and 
secretly  stirring  u[i  sedition  in  one  of  his  own  regiments. 


214  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  Twenty-seventh  were  buried,  or  any  of  the  attending  cir- 
cumstances. It  is  only  known  that  they  were  buried  by  men 
sent  from  the  regiment  for  the  purpose.  All  the  companies- 
being  represented  in  the  detail,  it  was  usual  for  the  men  of  a 
company  to  bury  their  own  dead.  This  was  always  done 
as  decently  and  with  as  much  thoroughness  of  detail  as  the 
conditions  would  admit.  Those  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain 
were  probably  interred  finally  in  the  small  National  Cemetery 
at  Culpeper,  though  of  this  the  writer  has  not  been  positively 
advised. 

Those  of  the  burial  party  who  went  over  the  field  report- 
ed that  the  timber  in  the  vicinity  of  where  the  Twenty- 
seventh  was  engaged,  was  cut  and  scored  by  musket  balls  to 
an  astonishing  degree.  The  palm  of  a  man's  hand  was  suf- 
ficient to  cover  seven  bullet  holes  in  one  tree,  and  in  many 
other  places  the  eviden  es  of  a  desperate  rain  of  lead  and  iron 
^vere  equally  conclusive.  It  will  never  cease  to  be  a  wonder 
how  any  one  escapes  under  such  circumstances. 

When  the  writer  visited  this  field,  more  than  twenty- 
seven  years  after  the  battle,  buckles,  scraps  of  tin,  dried 
leather,  etc.,  were  still  thickly  strewn  upon  the  ground  along 
the  edge  of  the  field,  where  the  line  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
stood,  the  remains  of  knapsacks,  and  cartridge  boxes  dropped 
there  by  the  killed  and  wounded.. 

Nothing  of  importance  is  recalled  as  connected  with  our 
further  stay  at  Culpeper.  Upon  the  \vithdrawal  of  the  army^ 
Dr.  Woollen,  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  remained,  as  one  of  the 
two  surgeons,  in  charge  of  the  hospital,  in  which  were  left 
those  too  sick,  or  too  badly  wounded,  to  be  moved.  The  Doctor 
largely  volunteered  to  do  this,  because  some  one  had  to  do  it, 
and  he  wanted  to  do  his  whole  duty.  But  he  had  not  dreamed 
of  the  seriousness  of  the  undertaking.  For  a  time  it  seemed 
that  he,  and  all  of  those  with  him,  might  lose  their  lives  at  the 
hands  of  a  mob  ;  while  excessive  labor,  manifold  perplexities 
and  personal  indignities  were  his  daily  fare.  Incredible  as 
it  may  appear,  when  the  Union  army  had  gone,  the  citizens  of 
Culpeper  could  scarcely  be  restrained  from  wreaking  bloody 
vengeance  upon  the  helpless  sick  and  wounded  in  the  hos- 
pital, and  upon  those  who,  at  great  personal  sacrifice,  were 
caring  for  them.  When  the  rebel  army  came  in  it  put  a  stop 
to  threatened  mob  violence,  but  it  did  that  which  rendered  the 
Doctor's  situation   almost   as    unenviable.     The   hospital  was 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


215 


Stripped  almost  bare  of  medicines  and  other  hospital  supplies, 
and  the  nurses  and  other  attendants  were  led  away  as  prisoners. 
At  one  time  there  were  seven  dead  bodies  in  the  hospital  with 
no  means  of  giving  them  decent  burial. 

Dr.  Woollen  was  eventually  sent  to  Libby  Prison  himself. 
Among  many  other  outrages  that  he  experienced  there,  he 
was  at  one  time  forced  to  prescribe  professionally  for  a  female 
victim  of  the  notorious  Capt.  Wirz,  then  on  duty  at  Libby, 
the  details  of  which  are  unfit  for  a  book  designed  for  general 
circulation. 

Debased,  brutish  men  may  be  found  in  any  army,  though 
it  is  not  as  common  to  find  them  there  as  some  good  people 
suppose.  The  undeniable  fact  that  Wirz — foul,  inhuman, 
hellish  wretch  that  he  was — was  not  only  in  close  touch,  but 
in  extraordinary  personal  favor,  with  the  highest  authorities  in 
the  rebel  civil  government,  is  a  fact  that  raises  perplexing 
questions. 


Wi 


"  Yank  "  and  "  Joiinnv  "  Ex- 

CMAN(;iNG  Coffee  for 

"  Tekhackek." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


SECOND    BULL  RUN. 

This  chapter  is  so  named,  because  it  relates  to  the  cam- 
paign connected  with  the  Second  Battle  of  Bull  Run,  rather 
than  to  the  battle  itself.  As  it  proved.  Banks'  corps,  in  which 
the  Twenty-seventh  was  serving,  was  not  called  upon  to  take 
an  active  part  in  that  engagement. 

The  Third  brigade  left  Culpeper  at  dark,  August  18th, 
taking  the  road  north,  and  marched  slowly  all  night,  crossing 
the  Rappahannock  river  at  the  railroad  bridge  about  nine 
o'clock  next  morning.  Few  comments  were  heard  upon 
the  fact  that  we  were  marching  away  from  the  enemy  instead 
of  toward  him.  After  a  brief  rest,  the  Twenty-seventh  con- 
tinued on  up  the  railroad  alone,  beyond  Bealton,  as  guard  for 
the  wagon-train.  The  dust  was  again  very  bad,  and  we  also 
suffered  much  for  water. 

The  Twenty-seventh  remained  in  bivouac  north  of  Beal- 
ton over  night  and  until  noon  the  next  day,  while  the  neglected 
pay  rolls  were  being  completed.  It  then  started  back  to  re- 
join the  brigade  along  the  Rappahannock.  This  we  found  no 
easy  task.  In  our  absence  the  brigade  had  moved  further  up 
the  river,  and,  to  the  drudgery  of  marching  in  such  weather, 
was  added  the  difficulty  of  finding  where  we  wanted  to  go. 
After  wandering  around  interminably,  running  down  one 
erroneous  report  after  another,  we  at  length  came  up  with 
our  friends  about   midnight. 

As  it  turned  out,  we  were  now  entering  upon  a  period 
memorable  for  its  exposure,  deprivations  and  trying  service. 
Under  orders  from  Washington,  Gen.  Pope  was  making 
strenuous  eft'orts  to  hold  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  until 
the  troops  lately  under  ISIcClellan,  on  the  Peninsula,  could 
come  to  his  assistance.  This  was  at  a  stage  in  the  war,  too, 
when  many  prominent  people  throughout  the  country  really 
believed  that  the  lack  of  success  on  our  side  had  been  wholly 
due  to  the  fact  that  our  self-sacrificing  soldiers  had  been 
allowed  to  take  life  too  easy.     It  was  unhlushingly  affirmed 


TWENTY-SEVEXTH    INDIANA.  217 

in  many  quarters  that  this  was  the  sum-total  of  the  trouble. 
The  insane  theory  was,  therefore,  to  have  an  actual  trial,  that 
by  mere  physical  exertion  and  endurance  on  the  part  of  the 
army,  regardless  of  how  they  might  be  directed,  victories  could 
be  won.  There  was  to  be  not  only  a  disregard  of  all  the  ordi- 
nary creature  comforts,  but  an  almost  total  abandonment  of 
such  effieminate  and  home  guard  habits  as  eating  and  sleep- 
ing. A  reckless  contempt  was  to  be  shown  for  such  casual 
incidents  as  night  and  day,  wind  and  weather.  We  were 
kept  on  short  rations  day  after  day,  and  at  times  almost  lit- 
erally starved,  when  thousands  of  supplies  were  conveniently 
at  hand,  and  had  to  be  burned  up  before  our  eyes  to  keep  them 
from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  We  were  awak- 
ened, time  and  again,  at  unholy  hours  of  the  night,  and 
required  to  make  tedious,  dilly-dally  marches,  that  could 
just  as  well  have  been  made  at  seasonable  times.  What 
broken  snatches  of  sleep  we  were  permitted  to  have  were,  as 
often  as  not,  out  under  the  open  sky,  upon  the  bare,  soggy 
earth,  rained  upon  like  range  cattle,  when  we  might  liave 
quickly  sheltered  ourselves,  if  orders  had  permitted  it.  Some 
of  these  things  were,  of  course,  the  result  of  the  disordered 
condition  of  the  army  and  the  incompetence  and  neglect  of 
individual  men  in  official  stations,  but  much  of  it  was  in 
response  to  the  popular  clamor  before  mentioned.  Numer- 
ous vain -glorious  dispatches  were,  meantime,  published 
throughout  the  North,  and  the  papers  flamed  with  head- 
lines, all  of  the  import  that  something  might  be  expected 
now,  for  the  army  was,  for  once,  exerting  itself. 

It  would  be  useless,  if  not  impossible,  to  attempt  to  trace 
upon  the  map  our  almost  continuous  marches  and  counter- 
marches during  these  toilsome,  hapless  and  disastrous  days. 
No  one  march  was  very  long,  and  no  two  were  in  the  same 
direction.  We  gradually  worked  cur  way  up  the  Rappahan- 
nock as  far  as  Sulphur  Springs.  Every  day  we  were  exposed 
to  artillery  fire.  Twice  we  were  shelled  with  great  vigor. 
Once  a  rebel  battery  threw  slugs  of  railroad  iron  over  among  us. 

For  a  time  the  weather  was  very  hot,  the  dust  horrible 
and  water  scarce.  Then  there  were  continuous,  drenching 
rains,  and  mud  without  stint.  Several  nights  the  thunder  was 
terrific,  the  lightning  blazed  in  our  faces,  and  the  rain  de- 
cended  in  torrents.  During  most  of  the  rains  we  shivered 
with  cold.     The   country   was    largely    wooded,   and,  passing 


218  HISTORY    OF    THE 

through  it  in  the  dark,  over  poorly-improved  roads,  marching^ 
was  unusually  slavish.  For  five  days  at  a  stretch  we  drew  no 
pork,  or  meat  ration  of  any  kind,  and  other  supplies  were  at 
the  minimum.  Men  were  known  to  refuse  as  high  as  a  dollar 
for  a  single  cracker.  Twenty-five  cents  for  a  cracker  was  con- 
sidered dirt  cheap,  especially  if  the  seller  would  wait  until 
pay-day  for  his  money. 

In  the  night  of  the  22d  of  August  the  enemy's  cavalry  struck 
our  line  of  communications  near  Manassas,  directly  in  our  rear, 
tearing  up  the  railroad  track,  burning  bridges,  capturing  and 
destroying  supplies,  etc.  This  was  not  the  real  cause  of  our 
short  rations,  however.  We  shall  see  presently  that  an  abund- 
ance had  already  been  accumulated  beyond  where  the  railroad 
was  interrupted.  The  enemy's  infantry  followed  immediately 
upon  the  heels  of  his  cavalry,  and  it  soon  became  known  to  us 
that  a  large  part  of  the  rebel  army  was  directly  between  us  and 
Washington. 

This  was  the  first  instance,  on  a  large  scale,  of  such  tactics 
in  the  Civil  war.  Stonewall  Jackson  led  the  movement,  as  he 
did  other  similar  ones,  later.  Such  moves  are  often  referred 
to,  therefore,  as  "Jackson  tactics."  It  was  reserved  for  Sher- 
man, Sheridan  and  others,  later  in  the  war,  not  only  to  meet 
such  strategems  successfully,  but  to  make  similar  ones  from 
our  side.  We  had  seen  Jackson's  long  columns  passing  up 
the  river  to  our  right  a  few  days  previously,  without  any  one 
surmising  the  end  aimed  at.  It  was  explained  now.  The 
points  of  interest  to  us  were  exactly  reversed.  Every  day- 
after  this,  from  morning  till  night,  we  could  litar  the  sullen 
boom  of  artillery,  off"  north  of  us,  instead  of  south,  where  it 
had  been  before. 

The  feasibility  of  capturing,  or  at  least  crippling  Jack- 
son's army,  which,  to  the  day  of  his  death.  Gen.  Pope 
always  insisted  upon,  was  at  once  communicated  to  the 
army.  It  was  intimated,  in  fact,  that  Jackson  had  been  pur- 
posely enticed  into  making  such  a  move,  for  the  definite  pur- 
pose of  punishing  him.  In  other  words,  it  was  asserted  that 
Jackson  was  at  last  "  trapped."  Later  on,  down  in  Georgia, 
when  we  found  the  other  side  deceiving  their  people  with 
similar  stories  about  Sherman,  claiming  that  they  were  only 
"trapping"  him,  we  greatly  enjoyed  it.  We  were  glad  to- 
have  some  of  that  kind  of  "  trapping  "  come  our  way. 

Of  course,  all   the  world   knows  now  that  Gen.  Pope  had 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  219 

nor  invited  nor  expected  any  thing  of  the  kind.  But  it  does 
seem  reasonable  at  this  date,  as  it  did  then,  that,  with  anything 
like  promptness  and  concert  of  action,  our  army  might  strike 
the  enemy  a  telling  blow  before  he  could  unite  his  forces,  or 
escape. 

Yet  our  corps  did  not  leave  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock 
for  four  days  after  this,  namely,  the  26th  of  August,  and  that 
day,  as  we  marched  slowly  back  in  the  direction  of  Warrentonr 
we  saw  large  numbers  of  both  Siegel's  and  McDowell's  corps', 
showing  that  they  had  not  moved  previous  to  that  either.  On 
the  27th  and  throughout  the  forenoon  of  the  28th,  we  made 
little  or  no  headway  towards  getting  anywhere,  or  striking  a 
blow  at  anybody.  We  were  under  arms  during  both  days  and, 
most  of  the  lime,  were  marching  slowly  along,  but  there 
seemed  to  be  indecision  or  confusion  as  to  where  we  were 
wanted.  At  different  times  we  marched  past  other  troops,  then, 
while  we  were  delayed,  they  marched  past  us.  On  this  last 
morning,  the  28th,  two  companies  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were 
subjected  to  the  hard  duty  of  marching  to  Bealton  station  and 
back,  eleven  or  twelve  miles  in  all,  carrying  their  knapsacks 
and  full  equipments,  as  guard  for  an  ordinance  train.  They  had 
barely  returned,  well  fagged  out,  when  the  whole  corps  picked 
itself  up  and  marched  to  Bealton,  over  the  same  road,  going^ 
also  some  distance  beyond. 

A  few  days  before  this  we  had  suffered  from  excessive  and 
continous  rains.  Much  of  the  time  we  were  wet  to  the  skin, 
our  feet  were  almost  always  wet  and  sleeping  habitually  on 
wet  ground,  with  wet  blankets,  we  chilled  with  cold  and  were 
bedraggled  with  mud.  To-day  our  course  lay  through  a  water- 
less country,  the  sun  seemed  bent  upon  burning  us  up,  and  the 
dust  was  as  bad  as  ever.  We  finally  stopped,  late  at  night, 
and  threw  ourselves  upon  the  ground,  without  regard  to  order, 
too  tired  to  prosecute  a  tedious  search  for  water,  though  our 
tongues  were  swollen  from  thirst. 

On  the  29th,  we  moved  on,  past  Warrenton  Junction  and 
Catletts  Station,  to  Kettle  Run.  Here  the  first  pork  and  cof- 
fee were  issued  that  we  had  received  for  a  week.  The  bridge 
over  Kettle  Run  had  been  destroyed  by  the  enemy,  cutting  off 
an  immense  quantity  of  arm}-  supplies  of  all  kinds.  The  sup- 
plies had  been  at  a  point  further  down  the  road  when  the  bridge 
was  destroyed,  but  had  been  brought  back  this  far,  in  the  hope 
that,    if  the    bridge    could    be    rebuilt,  they  might  be  taken 


220  HISTORY    OF    THE 

further.  Banks'  entire  corps  was  kept  out  of  the  battle,  which 
was  raging  to-day,  in  our  hearing,  and  which  was  continued 
the  day  following,  as  a  guard  for  these  supplies.  Valuable  as 
they  were,  it  was  the  general  conviction  among  us  that  the 
twelve  thousand  men  of  Banks'  corps  should  go  into  the  fight, 
at  the  ris's  of  losing  the  supplies.  As  it  was,  the  battle  was 
lost  and  the  supplies  also. 

Chaplain  Quint  was  urged  afterwards  to  write,  for  publi- 
cation, what  he  himself  had  seen  during  these  days  on  the 
Rappahannock.  Among  other  things  he  wrote,  "  I  saw  there 
on  the  Rappahannock  soldiers  faint  with  hunger ;  considering 
whether  to  eat  a  buscuit  or  save  it  until  morning;  glad  to 
receive  the  remnants  of  meat  which  some  others  had  to  spare  ; 
roasting  green  corn,  not  a  luxury,  but  to  satisfy  hunger.*  *  *  * 
I  saw  on  eventful  and  disasterous  days,  a  whole  corps  lying 
idle,  within  sound  of  the  battle.  I  saw  millions  of  dollars 
w^orth  of  property  destroyed." 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  81st  that  this  destruction  of 
property  occurred.  The  battle  had  fatuitously  gone  against 
the  loyal  army,  for  the  second  time,  in  the  uncanny  region  of 
Bull  Run.  Tenfold  more  extensive  and  bloody  than  the  first, 
which  is  odiously  famous,  the  Second  Battle  of  Bull  Run  is 
little  known  and  scantily  appreciated,  except  by  those  who 
were  in  it,  or  near  by  when  it  was  fought.  It  was  such  a 
hotch-potch  of  blunders  and  cross-purposes  on  our  side  ;  envy, 
hatred  and  personal  prejudices  among  our  leaders — not  to  say 
positive  insubordination  and  disloyalty — had  so  much  to  do 
with  its  issue,  that  few  have  had  the  hardihood  to  give  it  studied 
attention.  Yet  hundreds  of  brave  inen  died  there  as  only 
heroes  can  die,  and  the  full  measure  of  splendid  courage  and 
discipline  was  again  exhibited  in  vain  bv  many. 

Orders  came  to  our  corps  on  the  morning  of  the  81st  to 
start  huriedly.  The  facts,  communicated  along  with  the 
orders,  revealed  the  urgency  of  the  situation.  Direct  connec- 
tion between  us  and  the  army  had  already  been  interrupted. 
The  only  way  we  could  reach  the  army  was  by  a  circuitous 
route,  involving  the  fording  of  streams,  which  were  rapidly 
rising.  We  started  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and, 
-as  the  column  straightened  itself  on  the  road,  it  was  generally 
understood  that  the  chances  were  about  even  whether  we  were 
to  fight  or  swim  for  liberty.  It  had  poured  rain  in  the  night, 
but  was  only  raining  gently  now. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  221 

No  one  of  Banks'  corps,  present  that  morning,  has  probobly 
ever  looked  upon  another  such  sight  as  he  beheld  at  that  time. 
As  the  line  of  troops  marched  up  the  railroad,  crossed  it,  and 
struck  off  eastward,  railroad  cars,  which  in  a  line  would  reach 
a  mile,  were  wrapped  in  flames.  Worse  than  all,  these  cars 
were  mostly  loaded  with  choice  bacon,  sugar,  coffee,  crackers 
and  clothing.  A  few  were  loaded  with  ammunition.  With 
the  cars  were  several  locomotives.  These  could  not  be 
greatly  injured  by  fire  in  the  time  allowed,  and  the  rebels 
afterward  moved  them  South  and  repaired  them,  restoring 
the  bridge  across  the  Rappahannock  for  the  purpose.  The 
fire  reached  the  cars  loaded  with  ammunition  after  we  had 
passed  on  a  short  distance,  and  one  explosion  in  particular  was 
terrific.  The  order  to  burn  property  had  included  all  wagons 
and  baggage.  This  part  of  the  order  Gen.  Banks  wisely  de- 
cided not  to  execute  unless  a  more  pressing  emergency  should 
develop,  which  happily  did  not.  We  marched  at  a  straining 
pace  for  five  consecutive  hours,  without  a  halt.  There  was 
no  interruption,  very  little  was  said,  and  no  sign  of  undue 
haste  was  visible.  Making  a  wide  detour,  around  through 
Brentsville,  and  fording  the  Ocoquan  and  other  smaller 
streams,  we  returned  to  the  railroad  at  Manassas.  Passing  its 
blackened  ruins  we  pushed  on  to  Bull  Run. 

The  three  miles  between  these  two  points,  Bull  Run  and 
Manassas,  was  the  fortunate  space  that  had  intervened  between 
our  regimental,  brigade  and  division  wagon  trains  and  Stone- 
wall Jackson,  and  saved  them  from  his  clutches  a  few  nights 
before  this,  when,  without  warning,  he  swooped  into  Manas- 
sas, burning  everything  he  could  not  remove.  These  trains 
were  quietly  parked  that  night  on  the  south  bank  of  Bull 
Run,  wholly  without  protection  and  unmindful  of  danger. 
Most  of  those  in  charge  were  asleep.  The  few  who  were 
awake  could  hear  very  distinctly  every  pistol  shot  at  Manassas, 
and  could  plainly  see  the  light  from  the  burning  buildings, 
yet  not  dreaming  of  the  enemy  being  in  the  rear  of  our  army, 
were  bewildered  as  to  the  cause,  and  scarcely  had  a  suspicion 
of  it.  At  the  first  hint  of  the  real  state  of  the  case,  however, 
no  one  need  think  that  any  time  was  lost  in  hooking  up  and 
moving  briskly  off  towards  Alexandria. 

The  Twenty-seventh  was  detained  several  hours  near  the 
crossing  of  Bull  Run  to  guard  a  field  hospital,  containing- 
wounded  from  the  recent  battle.     It  is  misleading  to  call  it  a 


522  HISTORY    OF    THE 

hospital,  however.  It  was  nothing  more  than  a  shady  place, 
where  several  hundred  badly  wounded  men  were  lying  upon 
the  ground,  almost  destitute  of  everything,  including  nursing 
and  friendly  sympathy. 

Pittiable  sufferers,  they  occupied  acres  of  ground,  with 
nothing  over  them  except  the  shade  of  the  trees,  and  nothing 
under  them  except  a  few  evergreen  boughs.  In  their  soiled, 
blood-stained  clothing,  if  there  was  as  much  as  one  well  per- 
son about  to  give  them  a  drink  of  water,  before  we  arrived,  we 
did  not  see  him.  It  was  reported  that  the  only  surgeon  who 
had  been  in  attendance  had  gone  away,  shortly  before  our 
arrival,  in  search  of  ambulances  to  remove  them.  After  awhile 
an  endless  train  of  ambulances  arrived,  and  one  by  one,  they 
were  loaded  in.  When  the  last  groaning,  bleeding  victim  had 
been  carted  away,  the  Twenty-seventh  moved  on  towards 
Centerville. 

While  the  battle  of  Chantilly  was  b  ing  fought  our 
division  formed  a  reserve  line,  not  far  in  rear  of  those  engaged. 
Strangers  to  him  personally  as  we  all  were,  we  deeply 
regretted  Gen.  Phil.  Kearney's  untimely  death,  in  this  battle. 
The  severest  part  of  the  battle  w^as  fought  during  a  hard 
down-pour  of  rain. 

It  was  now  clear  to  all  that  our  army  had,  for  the  time, 
lost  the  power  of  effectual  resistance.  It  was  not  seized  with 
panic,  as  was  the  case  at  the  First  Battle  of  Bull  Run  ;  neither 
was  it  broken  up  and  demoralized.  It  was  only  scattered  and 
disorganized  and  not  able  to  act  unitedly.  No  successful  stand 
could  be  made  on  this  side  of  the  Potomac  outside  of  the 
defences  of  Washington. 

After  many  inexplicable  delays  and  counter-marches, 
turning  first  to  one  side,  then  to  the  other,  of  the  road,  often 
going  back,  always  making  head-way  slowly,  hungry,  foot- 
sore, ragged,  unwashed  and  tired  beyond  words  to  express, 
we  finally  dropped  down,  as  it  were,  in  the  middle  of  the 
night,  following  Sept,  2nd,  under  the  guns  of  the  forts  near 
Alexandria. 

The  next  day,  Sept.  8d,  w^e  moved  up  opposite  Washing- 
ton, bivouacking  near  Fort  Richardson.  On  Sept.  4th  Banks' 
corps  recrossed  the  Potomac  into  Georgetown  on  the  acque- 
duct,  which,  having  the  water  drawn  out,  served  as  a  bridge. 
For  a  second  time,  baflfled  and  discomfitted  piece-meal,  we  had 
been  forced,  through  no  fault  of  ours,  to  turn  our  backs  upon 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


223 


those  no  braver  or  better  soldiers  than  ourselves.  The 
Twenty-seventh  never  saw  Gen.  Banks  again.  On  account  of 
impaired  health,  it  was  said,  he  was  relieved  of  the  command 
of  the  corps  and  given  charge,  temporarily,  of  the  troops  left 
to  protect  Washington.  We  had  served  under  him  almost  a 
year.  Whatever  else  he  was  or  was  not,  we  found  him  to  be 
a  courteous  and  humane  gentleman. 


^~W 


:3£iiEttDtrnni^ 

Im 


r 


) 


Got  any  Pies  to  Sell,  Aunty? 


A  Picket  Reserve. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


CAMPAIGNING  IN  MARYLAND. 

As  it  is  in  civil  life,  so  it  was  in  the  army — present  duty 
demanded  attention,  rather  than  past  losses  and  disappoint- 
ments. Often  this  very  necessity  was  most  helpful,  and 
enabled  men  to  endure  what  otherwise  would  have  been  kill- 
ing. If  the  soldiers  who  served  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
can  claim  special  credit  for  anything,  it  is  not  so  much  for  the 
sore  privations  they  suffered,  or  the  unequalled  blood  they 
shed,  as  for  the  supreme  test  which  their  uncalled-for,  dis- 
heartening reverses  imposed  upon  their  love  of  country  and 
their  faith  in  its  ultimate  deliverance.  If  this  army  was  out- 
maneuvered,  taken  at  a  helpless  disadvantage  and  pounded 
mercilessly  yesterday  ;  resolutely  and  hopefully,  if  not  smil- 
ingly, it  squared  itself  for  the  encounter  today.  From  this 
standpoint  it  was  a  good  thing  that  it  had  an  active,  energetic 
enemy.  Both  after  Second  Bull  Run  and  Chancellorsville,  it 
would  have  been  a  calamity  for  the  Union  army  to  have 
remained  inactive.  When  the  rebel  commander  gave  it  some- 
thing to  do,  worthy  of  itself,  he  was  helping  it  over  a  very 
hard  place. 

No  sooner  were  we  across  the  Potomac  then  the  air  was 
heavily  charged  with  rumors  of  a  bold,  formidable,  aggressive 
movement  on  the  part  of  the  rebels.  At  once,  as  if  by 
magic,  a  wonderful  change  came  over  our  army.  Every  one 
who  was  the  least  discouraged  or  doubtful  before,  was  now 
buoyant  and  full  of  confidence.  This  change,  which  was  appar- 
ent to  all,  has  been  ascribed  by  some  to  the  fact  that  Gen. 
McClellan  was  restored  to  command.  If  this  applied  to  other 
corps  it  did  not  apply  to  ours  to  a  very  great  degree.  It  was 
an  inspiration  at  any  time  to  have  a  leader  of  recognized 
ability,  but  we  had  not  been  serving  directly  under  McClellan 
and  did  not  share  the  belief  largely  that  he  was  the  only 
general  who  could  lead  the  army  to  victory. 

The  forenoon  of  the  5th  was  spent  in  mustering  for  pay, 
a  duty  overdue    since    the  1st.     In  the  afternoon  we  marched 


TWEN  rV-SEVENTII     INDIANA.  '2'20 

a  mile  beyond  RockvilU-,  over  the  same  road  we  had  gone  a 
year  before  when,  for  tlie  first  time,  we  tried  carrying  knap- 
sacks and  full  equipments.  Tiie  Twenty-seventh  had  not 
quite  put  down  the  rebellion  in  the  interval,  as  most  of  us  had 
then  secretly  imagined  we  easily  could  do,  but  it  had  been  a 
year  into  which  a  good  deal  had  been  crowded,  after  all. 

I-^9rly  on  the  morning  of  the  Gth  our  division  formed  in 
regular  line  of  battle,  in  front  of  where  we  had  bivouacked  over 
niglit,  and  moved  forward  in  that  order  quite  a  distance,  as  if 
adxancing  to  an  attack.  Why  this  was  done  is  still  a  con- 
nuiulrum.  If  it  was  believed  by  those  in  command  that  an 
enemy  of  any  size  was  near,  it  was  a  palpable  error.  It  mav 
have  been  only  an  act  of  caution  in  a  time  of  uncertainty, 
and  in  the  midst  of  a  multitude  of  indefinable  rumors. 

During  these  days  that  we  spent  nortii  of  Washington 
at  this  time,  several  things  transpired  which  have  an  interest 
in  this  narrative.  The  most  prominent  of  these  was  the  organ- 
ization of  the  troops  lately  under  Gen.  Banks,  uith  some  new 
regiments  and  others  that  iiad  been  serving  elsewhere,  into  the 
Twelfth  Army  Corps,  and  regularly  incorporating  it  into  the 
Armv  of  the  Potomac.  We  had  been  a  part  of  that  army  dur- 
ing the  fall  and  winter  previous,  but,  in  the  spring,  had  been 
detached  from  it.  We  were  now  definitely  reassigned  to  it 
again.  No  one  of  us  will  ever  cease  to  rejoice  that  this  was 
done.  While  without  this  we  might  justly  have  claimed  rela- 
tionship to  it  and  thus  inherited  a  share  of  its  imperishable  re- 
nown, by  this  transaction  such  a  course  was  rendered  unnec- 
essary. Henceforth  we  were  acknowledged  members  of  the 
blood  royal.  Maj.-Gen.  J.  K.  Mansfield  was  at  the  same 
time  placed  in  commanil  of  the  Twelfth  Corps.  As  it  proved, 
he  was  to  furnish  one  of  the  most  glowing  pages  in  its  history. 
He  was  mortally  wounded  while  moving  the  corps  into  bat- 
tle onl}'  a  few  days  subseciuent  to  its  organization. 

Two  new  regiments,  the  Thirteenth  New  Jersey  and  the 
()ne  Hundred  and  Seventh  New  ^'()rk,  were  also  assigned  to 
our  brigade  at  this  time,  ami  remained  in  it  until  the  end  of 
the  war.  Their  appearance  when  thev  first  came  to  us  was 
in  striking  contrast  to  that  of  the  older  regiments.  There 
seemed  to  be  a  countless  number  of  them.  We  had  not  real- 
ized before  how  large  a  regiment  reallv  was.  Their  new  uni- 
forms, their  enormous    knapsacks,  ami   their  seeming  excess  of 

equipments  of  all    kinds,  attracting    more    attention    by    their 
15 


•22C) 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


inexperienced  way  of  bundling  them  up  and  caring  for  them. 
we  shall  not  soon  forget.  No  less  in  contrast  with  ours  were 
their  bleached  faces  and  soft,  white  hands.  Would  such 
dainty,  effeminate  fellows  ever  make  soldiers?  If  they  were 
guyed  and  tormented  about  these  matters  by  the  older  soldier.- 
it  was  not  out  of  the  common.  But  it  was  only  the  few  who 
did  such  things.  Most  good  soldiers  are  thoughtful  enough 
to  recall  the  facts  about  themselvesat  an  earlier  date.  Almost 
needless  is  it  to  say,  that  these  were  both  splendid  regiments, 
and  tiiat  their  names  will  often  be  mentioned  hereafter,  never 
otherwise  than  in  praise. 


Ord.   Sergt.   David  Everhart, 
Company  E. 


Capt.   John    \V.  Tjiouniu'rc;, 
Company  B. 


The  Twenty-seventh  itself  received  a  considerable  squad 
of  recruits  at  this  time.  It  is  not  possible  to  give  the  number, 
much  less  the  names,  of  those  who  then  joined  us.  but  this  was 
the  largest  number  of  recruits  that  came  to  us  at  any  one  time. 
The  Twenty-seventh  received  less  than  one  hundred  recruits 
from  first  to  last.     The  service  of  the  regiment  was  too  arduou- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  227 

to  attract  enlistments  largely.  Whatever  the  reason  was.  it  is 
a  fact  that  commands  doing  garrison  duty,  or  that  did  not 
seem  likely  to  be  called  upon  to  shed  much  blood,  got  the  most 
recruits  from  voluntary  enlistments.  All  the  more  credit  was 
it,  therefore,  to  a  person  who  volunteered  to  go  to  a  regiment 
where  he  would  plunge  at  once  into  active  field  service  and 
was  likely  to  stand  before  the  enemy's  muskets  inside  of  a 
week,  as  these  recruits  really  did.  As  might  be  e.xpected, 
such  men  were  made  of  the  right  kind  of  stuff.  The  writer 
has  no  knowledge,  personal  or  otherwise,  of  any  recruit  to  the 
Twenty-seventh,  coming  at  this  or  any  other  time,  who  did 
not  prove  himself  a  good  soldier.  Several  of  these  recruits 
were  killed  at  Antietam,  less  than  two  weeks  after  reaching  us. 
For  some  reason  Gen.  Mansfield  did  not  come  to  the  corps 
for  several  days  after  his  appointment,  and  ''  Pap'"  Williams 
■  was  in  command.  In  the  Official  Records  of  the  Rebellion  is 
what  he  called  "The  Itinerary  of  the  Twelfth  Corps,'"  record- 
ing its  movements  for  a  few  days.  In  this  he  says  we  '•  Lay 
upon  the  field  on  the  7th."  Of  course  we  did!  The  onlv  dif- 
ference between  our  lying  on  the  field  that  day,  however,  and 
any  other  was  one  of  location  merely.  We  had  been  lying 
on  one  field  or  another  for  nearly  a  month. 

On  the  9th  we  moved  to  Middlebrook,  northward:  on  the 
10th,  to  Damascus,  and,  remaining  in  camp  there  one  day, 
moved,  on  the  12th,  to  Ijamsville.  This  village  is  on  the 
main  line  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  eight  or  ten  miles 
east  of  Frederick.  Our  route  this  time  carried  us  east  of  Old 
Sugar  Loaf  mountain,  though  it  was  in  sight  for  a  dav  or 
more.  The  summit  was  occupied  by  a  signal  station.  The 
road  we  traveled  this  time  was  not  as  rocky  as  the  one  wc 
had  traveled  the  previous  fall. 

On  the  13th  we  moved  by  the  direct  road  to  Frederick. 
This  took  us  immediately  past  Mr.  Clays  house,  in  wliose 
orchard  we  had  camped  the  previous  December.  Looking 
northward,  we  could  plainly  see  our  deserted  cabins  of  the 
previous  winter;  in  fact,  some  of  our  boys  on  the  skirnii>h 
line   passed  among   them. 

The  bulk  of  Lee's  army  had  been  at  Frederick  up  to  a 
very  recent  period.  We  were  liable  at  any  time  to  enco'inter 
rebel  scouts  or  outposts.  As  the  Twenty-seventh  led  the 
column,  expecting  any  moment  to  sight  an  enemv,  though 
passing    over    this  ground,   where    we    had    formerlv    felt     so 


2'2S  HISTORY    OK    THE 

secure,  and  which,  indeed,  almost  seemed  like  home  to  us,  the 
sudden  and  violent  changes  which  the  fortunes  of  war  may 
bring  about  were  forcibly  impressed  upon  us. 

There  being  no  bridge  over  the  Monoccacy,  on  this  road, 
we  forded  that  stream.  The  water  was  only  knee-deep,  and 
warm,  so  it  was  no  hardship,  except  to  our  already  badly- worn 
shoes  and  tattered  pants.  Some  of  our  officers  had  put  on 
their  best  boots  and  pants  when  we  came  up  with  our  wagons 
at  Washington.  To  plunge  into  the  water  in  the  river,  and 
then  into  the  dust,  shoe-mouth  deep,  on  the  other  side,  caused 
them  to  make  wry  faces,  but  they  did  not  flinch. 

When  we  emerged  from  the  timber  east  of  the  Monoccacy, 
we  saw  smoke  rising  from  several  pieces  of  artillery,  engaged 
in  the  open  country  west  of  Frederick.  It  was  now  clear  that 
no  enemy  would  be  encountered  short  of  that  point.  But, 
with  skirmishers  still  deployed  in  our  front,  we  moved  on  and 
Hually  halted  in  a  clover  field,  adjoining  the  city  on  the  south. 

The  weather  was  very  beautiful.  As  we  lay  down  upon 
the  clean  grass,  we  did  so  with  a  sense  of  relaxation  and  enjoy- 
ment that  soldiers  do  not  always  have  when  taking  a  short 
rest.  Still,  something  of  very  great  importance  was  about  to 
transpire.  This  was  nothing  less  than  the  finding,  by  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Twent3'-seventh,  of  the  now  famous  and  historic 
Lost  Dispatch,  or  Order  No.  191. 

At  least  one  prominent  authority  on  the  Confederate  side 
that  has  come  to  the  attention  of  the  writer  cites  the  unac- 
countable loss  of  this  paper  and  its  prompt  finding  and  delivery 
to  Gen.  McClellan,  as  one  of  the  mysterious  developments  in 
the  overthrow  of  their  cause,  in  which  Providence  seemed 
clearlv  to  take  sides  against  them.  It  is  an  instance,  rather, 
showing  how  fatal  a  small  mishap  on  one  side  in  war  may 
prove  to  be  if  taken  intelligent  and  sptedy  advantage  of  by 
the  other  side.  The  advantage  which  accrued  to  our  side,  as 
it  was,  through  the  finding  of  this  document,  was  immeasur- 
able. Gen.  McClellan  says  ;  "  Whoever  found  the  order,  and 
transmitted  it  to  headquarters,  rendered  an  infinite  service." 
H  the  service  was  anything  less  than  infinite  it  was  only  be- 
cause a  proportionate  intelligence  and  energy  Avere  not  exer- 
cised in  taking  full  advantage  of  the  information  contained  in 
the  order  that  was  exercised  in  recognizing  its  importance 
and  placing  it  in  the  hands  of  the  commanding  general.  What 
more  could  a  general  ask  than  to  have  the  plans  of  his  antago- 


TWENTY    SEX'EXTH     INDIANA.  229 

nist  for  the  next  several  days  fully  and  clearly  made  known  to 
him,  more  especially  when  the  plans  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
army  of  his  antagonist  was  divided  and  widely  scattered:- 

The  writer  has  nowhere,  in  any  book,  magazine,  or  news- 
paper, seen  the  statement  that  this  dispatch  was  found  by  a 
soldier  or  soldiers  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana,  except  where 
the  statement  was  made  by  a  member  of  the  regiment  itself. 
Writers  content  themselves  with  saying  that  it  was  found  ''by 
a  member  of  an  Indiana  regiment."  In  most  cases  they 
simply  say  "  by  a  soldier."  Is  this  an  example  of  the  partial- 
itv  of  the  world  for  position  and  titles?  Does  this  illustrate 
how  easily  a  name  once  illumined  with  real  or  fancied  bright- 
ness attracts  to  itself  additional  lustre.?  If  this  Lost  Dispatch 
had  been  picked  up  and  its  importance  recognized  by  some- 
one already  well  known,  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  what 
explicit  and  effusive  praise,  if  not  increased  honor  and  emolu- 
ments, would  have  been  heaped  upon  him. 

The  facts  relating  to  the  finding  of  the  Lost  Dispatch,  as 
well  as  some  of  the  stupendous  results  which  followed,  are 
probably  set  forth  as  clearly  and  accurately  in  Gen.  Colgrove's 
communication  to  the  Century  Magazine,*  as  will  ever  be 
possible,  under  tlie  circumstances.  That  communication,  en- 
tire, is  as  follows  : 

"  In  reply  to  your  request  for  tlie  jjarticulars  of  the  finding  of  General 
Lee's  lost  dispatch,  Special  Orders  191,  and  the  manner  in  which  it 
reached  General  McClellan,  I  beg  to  submit  the  followmg  account  : 

"The  Twelfth  Army  Corps  arrived  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  about 
noon  on  the  13th  of  September,  18B2.  The  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  \'ol- 
unteers,  of  which  I  was  colonel  at  that  date,  belonged  to  the  Third 
Brigade,  First  Division,  of  that  corps. 

"  We  stacked  arms  on  the  same  ground  that  had  been  occupietl  In- 
General  D.  H.  Hill's  corps  the  evening  bef(.)re. 

"  Within  a  very  few  minutes  after  halting,  the  order  was  lirought  to 
me  by  First  Sergeant  John  M.  Bloss,  and  Private  B.  W.  Mitchell,  of  Com- 
pany F,  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  \'olunteers,  who  stated  that  it  was  found 
by  Private  Mitchell  near  where  they  had  stacked  arms.  When  I  received 
the  order  it  was  wrappetl  around  three  cigars,  and  Private  Mitchell 
stated  that  it  was  in  that  condition  when  found  by  him. 

"General  A.  S.  WiUiams  was  in  command  of  our  division.  I  imme- 
diately took  the  order  to  his  head(iuarters,  and  delivered  it  to  Colonel  S. 
E.  Pitman,  General  Williams's  Adjutant-General. 

"  The  order  was  signed  l)y  Colonel  Chilton,  General  Lee's  Adjutant- 
General,  and  the  signature  was   at  t)nce  recognizeil  by  Colonel  Pitman , 


*  Century  Mii;:ii/.ine,  \ol.  '.V.\.  [i.  l:il. 


ll80  HISTORY    OF    THE 

will)  had  served  with  Colonel  Chilton  at  Detroit,  Michigan,  prior  to  the 
war,  and  was  acquainted  with  his  handwriting.  It  was  at  once  taken  to 
General  McClellan's  headi|iiarters  by  Colonel  Pitman.  It  was  a  general 
order  giving  directions  for  the  movement  of  General  Lee's  entire  army, 
designating  the  route  and  objective  point  of  each  corps.  Within  one 
hour  after  finding  the  dispatch.  General  McClellan's  whole  army  was  on 
the  move,  and  the  enemy  were  overtaken  the  next  day,  the  14th,  at  South 
Mountain,  and  the  battle  of  that  name  was  fought.  During  the  night  of 
the  14th  General  Lee's  army  fell  back  toward  the  Potomac  River,  General 
McClellan  following  the  next  day.  On  the  16th  they  were  overtaken 
again,  and  the  battle  of  Antietam  was  fought,  mainly  on  the  17th.  Gen- 
eral D.  H.  Hill  says  in  his  article  in  the  May  Century,  that  the  battle  of 
.South  Mountain  was  fought  in  order  to  give  General  Lee  time  to  move 
his  trains,  which  were  then  parked  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boonsboro'. 
It  is  tnident  from  General  Lee's  movements  from  the  time  he  left  Fred- 
rick Citv  that  he  intended  to  recross  the  Potomac  without  hazarding  a 
battle  in  Maryland,  and,  had  it  not  been  for  the_^  finding  of  this  lost  order, 
the  battle  of  South  Mountain,  and  probably  that  of  Antietam,  would  not 
have  been  fought. 

"  For  confirmation  of  the  above  statement  in  regard  to  the  finding  of 
the  dispatch,  you  are  respectfully  referred  to  Colonel  Samuel  E.  Pitman, 
of  Detroit,  Michigan,  and  Captain  John  M.  Bloss,  of  Muncie,  Indiana. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  S.   COLGROVE. 

"  Washington,  D.  C,  June  2,  18«0." 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing  comniimication,  in 
the  Century  Magazine,  is  the  following,  under  the  head  of 
•'  Note  :'' 

"  Mr.  W.  A.  Mitchell,  son  of  Private  Mitchell,  who,  as  General  Silas 
Colgrove  describes  above,  was  the  finder  of  Lee's  order,  wTites  that  his 
father  was  severely  wounded  at  Antietam.  After  eight  months  in  hospital 
he  completed  his  term  of  enlistment,  three  years,  and  three  years  after 
his  discharge,  died  at  his  home  in  Bartholomew  county,  Indiana.  As  his 
family  were  then  destitute,  efforts  were  made  to  procure  a  pension  for 
the  widow,  but  without  success.  The  following  letter  from  General  Mc- 
Clellan to  the  son  is  of  interest  : 

"Trenton,  New  Jersey,  November  18,  1879. 
"  W.  A.  Mitchell,  Esq.,  La  Cygne,  Kansas  : 

"  Dear  Sir  :  Your  letter  of  the  9th  inst.  has  reached  me.  I  cannot, 
at  this  interval  of  time,  recall  the  finder  of  the  papers  to  which  you  refer — 
it  is  doubtful  whether  I  ever  knew  his  name.  All  that  I  can  say  is  that 
on  or  about  the  13th  of  September,  1802, — just  before  the  battles  of  South 
Mountain  and  Antietam— there  was  handed  to  me  by  a  member  of  my 
staff  a  copy  (original)  of  one  of  General  Lee's  orders  of  march,  directed 
to  General  D,  H.  Hill,  which  order  developed  General  Lee's  intended 
operations  for  the  next  few  days,  and  was  of  very  great  service  to  me  in 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  231 

<rnabling  me  to  direct  the  movements  of  my  own  troops  accordin<.dy. 
This  order  was  stated  to  have  been  found  on  one  of  the  abandoned  camp- 
urounds  of  the  Confederate  troops  by  a  private  soldier  of,  as  I  think,  an 
Indiana  rejjiment.  Whoever  found  the  order  in  question  and  transmitted 
it  to  the  headquarters,  showed  intelligence  and  deserved  a  marked  re- 
ward, for  he  rendered  an  infinite  service.  The  widow  of  that  soldier 
should  have  her  pension  without  a  day's  delay.  Regretting  that  it  is  not 
in  my  power  to  give  the  name  of  the  finder  of  the  order,  I  am, 
"  Very  truly  yours, 

"Gko.  B.  McClkllan." 

Two  other  versions  of  the  circuinstances  attending  the  find- 
ing of  this  paper  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  writer. 
In  both,  the  credit  of  discovering  the  value  of  the  paper,  if  not 
the  paper  itself,  is  largely  accorded  to  other  persons.  These 
versions  also  differ  from  each  other,  even  more  than  they  diflfer 
from  the  version  given  by  Gen.  Colgrove.  The  writer  has  not 
thought  best  to  undertake  to  reconcile  these  different  versions, 
or  to  decide  between  them.  The  one  given  by  Gen.  Colgrove  is 
uncjuestionablv  the  one  most  current  in  the  regiment  at  the  time, 
if  indeed  any  other  one  was  then  made  public  at  all.  The 
writer,  after  dilligent  inquiry,  has  failed  to  find  any  one  among 
the  survivors  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  not  interested,  in  some 
way.  in  one  of  the  other  versions,  who  remembers  to  have 
heard  of  either  of  them,  until  within  a  recent  period.  It 
would  almost  seem  that  they  are  thus  debarred  by  the  statute 
of  limitations. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  letter  addressed  by  the  writer  to  Mr. 
W.  A.  Mitchell,  mentioned  in  the  note  quoted  above,  from  the 
Century  ]Magazine.  requesting  of  him  a  brief  summa-y  of  the 
evidence  supporting  his  father's  claim,  or  any  statement  he 
mi'^ht  choose  to  make  in  the  premises,  was  not  accorded  the 
courtesy  of  a  reply  of  any  kind.  The  only  claim,  therefore, 
that  is  positively  asserted  here  is,  that  the  important  document 
in  question  was  found  by  some  member  or  members  of  the 
Twenty-seventh,  and  that,  whoever  it  was,  the  quick  discern- 
ment and  loyal  interest  were  not  wanting,  to  recognize  its 
value  and  to  see  that  it  was  placed  in  proper  hands  without 
delay.  It  is  claimed,  furthermore,  that  this  is  only  a  fair  illus- 
tration of  the  intelligent,  patriotic  service  rendered  by  the  men 
of  the  regiment. 

Gen.  Colgrove  states  that,  within  one  hour  after  the  dis- 
patch was  sent  to  Gen.  McClellan,  the  army  was  in  motion. 
This  was  true  of  those   troops   that    were   to   lead  the  advance. 


232 


HISTORY     OK    THE 


The  Twenty-seventh  did  not  start  so  promptly.  After  start- 
ing, progress  was  slow.  Without  anv  known  reason,  only 
that  those  immediately  ahead  of  us  did  so.  we  moved  very  lei.>- 
urely  at  best,  and  spent  considerable  time  at  a  halt. 


Caft.  John  M.  Bloos  Co.  F. 

Ex-Supt.  Public   Instruction   of   Indiana;    Ex  President   State   Agri- 
cultural ColleL,^e  of  Oregon.     Recent  Portrait. 

Almost  from  the  tirst,  there  was  heavy  cannonading  ahead 
of  us.  The  country  west  of  Frederick  is  open,  except  where 
mountain  ranges  intercept  the  view.  As  far  as  we  could  see. 
long  lines  of  men  were  in  sight,  all  moving  slowly  furwaid  or 
at  a  standstill.  After  we  had  passed  the  Catoctin  range  of 
mountains  clouds  of  smoke,  ascending  from  many  elevations, 
showed  us  where  batteries,  either  I'nion  or  Confederate,  were 
in  action.  The  sound  of  the  guns  was  also  borne  to  our  ear-, 
at  times  with  great  distinctness.      The  Twenty-f^ex  tnlli  l)i\or.- 


T\VENTV-SE\HNTII     INDIANA.  233 

acked  not  far  west  of  Frederick  the  ni^ht  of  the  li3»h.  The 
march  was  resumed  next   morninj^,  but   was  still   a   slow  one. 

Our  column  eventually  turned  off  to  the  right  of  the  road  we 
were  on,  and  made  a  wide  detour  across  fields,  through  woods, 
etc.  It  irwy  have  been  intended  at  first  that  we  should  cross 
over  to  another  road,  or  move  around  and  strike  the  enemy  in 
flank.  If  this  was  the  case,  the  plan  was  afterward  aban- 
doned, for  eventually  we  returned  to  the  same  road  again, 
further  on,  ]Much  of  the  ground  passed  over  while  we  were 
thus  marching  cross-country  was  stony  and  rough — some  of  it 
was  precipitous. 

As  we  approached  the  front  we  could  easily  recognize 
that  a  serious  buttle  was  in  progress.  We  could  see  the  smoke 
from  the  infantry  lines  on  the  mountain  side,  and.  when  dark- 
ness began  to  appear,  we  could  see  the  flashes  fiom  the  mus- 
kets. This  was  the  struggle  for  the  possession  of  Turner's 
Gap,  a  part  of  the  Battle  of  South  Mountain.  It  was  late 
before  we  halted  for  the  night.  When  we  did.  we  had 
reached  the  edge  of  the  battlefiel  '.  N'ery  much  fatigued, 
there,  on  the  sloping  mountain  side,  near  the  pike  east  of 
where  it  passes  the  summit  of  South  Mountain,  we  were  soon 
asleep. 

This  stone  pike,  it  may  be  remarked  in  passing,  on  which 
the  battle  of  South  Mountain  was  fought,  and  upon  which,  or 
near  which,  we  marched  at  this  time,  is  the  continuation  of 
the  old  National  road,  well  remembered  bv  most  Indiana 
people  whose  recollections  extend  back  some  years  before  the 
Civil  war.  That  road  was  projected  to  run  from  Cumberland. 
Maryland,  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  This  pike  was  the  con- 
necting link  between  Cumberland  and  Baltimore.  Our 
winter  quarters,  east  of  Frederick,  known  as  Canip  Halleck. 
were  near  the  same  pike.  The  building  of  the  National  road, 
in  connection  with  this  eastern  extension  of  it.  was  tlie  means 
of  bringing  a  great  many  Maryland  people  to  Indiana  in  an 
early  day. 

When  day  dawned  next  morning,  the  lOth,  we  found 
ourselves  in  the  midst  of  a  great  manv  troops,  some  of  them 
belonging  to  corps  other  than  our  own.  and  with  which  we 
had  had  nothing  directly  to  do  heretofore.  We  also  found 
ourselves  surrounded  by  many  evidences  of  the  battle  of  the 
day  previous.  After  breakfast  we  resumed  our  inarch,  and 
passed  on  through  Turner's  Gap.      On  the  wav  we  saw  a  large 


234  HISTORY    OF    THE 

number  of  dead  rebels,  dead  horses,  disabled  caLssons.  broken 
wheels,  muskets,  cartridge  boxes,  and  other  articles,  always 
found  upon  a  battlefield.  Many  things  indicated  that  the 
flight  of  the  enemy  had  been  precipitous. 

In  the  town  of  Boonsboro,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
on  the  west,  our  column  tiled  to  the  left, on  to  the  pike  leading 
directly  to  vSharpsburg.  So  many  wounded  rebels  had  been 
left  behind  in  Boonsboro,  with  so  many  surgeons  and  nurses 
to  care  for  them,  that  it  seemed  to  us  as  we  passed  through 
that  the  men  in  gray  must  be  in  peaceable  possession  of  the 
place. 

Beyond  Boonsboro  a  short  distance  we  turned  into  a  field 
and  halted.  All  the  troops  with  which  we  were  moving 
seemed  to  do  tlie  same.  A  large  number  of  soldiers,  belong- 
ing to  various  divisions  and  corps,  were  again  in  sight.  All 
morning  there  had  been  great  enthusirism,  and  here  it  took  the 
form  of  noisy  demonstrations.  All  the  men  cheered  and 
shouted   lustily. 

The  main  reason  for  this  exhuberance  of  spirits  was,  of 
course,  the  victory  that  had  been  won.  If  the  victory  was 
not  on  a  very  large  scale,  the  men  did  not  understand  that, 
and  it  encouraged  them  to  believe  that  otiier  victories  were 
awaiting  their  efforts. 

Another  reason  why  the  men  cheered  and  shouted  at  this 
time  was  the  presence  of  Gen.  McClellan,  Gen.  Burnside  and 
other  high  officials.  As  we  had  marched  over  the  mountain. 
Gen.  McClellan,  with  his  endless  retinue  of  staflP  officers,  order-, 
lies,  clerks  and  body-guard,  had  passed  us.  After  we  had 
halted  at  this  place.  Gen.  Burnside  also  came  near  us  and 
stopped.  This  was  the  first  and  last  time  the  writer  ever  saw 
Gen.  Burnside.  A  numerous  and  showy  cavalcade  trailed 
behind   him   wherever  he   went. 

It  was  the  rule  at  this  stage  of  the  war  to  cheer  whenever 
officers  of  high  rank  appeared.  In  fact,  before  Gen.  McClel- 
lan had  passed  us,  as  before  mentioned,  an  officer  or  officers, 
riding  in  advance  of  him,  instructed  us  to  cheer  when  he 
should  pass  by.  .^ome  of  us  liave  wondered  since  whether 
it  could  be  that  the  General  himself  was  in  connivance  with 
these  officers.  Anyway,  here,  near  Boonsboro,  after  Gen. 
Burnside  had  come  up  with  considerable  ostentation  and 
many  flourishes,  and  had  received  a  tumultuous  ovation.  Gen, 
McClellan   came  a  second    time.     At    this,  everybody    went 


TWEXTV-SHVEXTII     INDIANA.  1285 

wild.  The  cheers  and  other  demonstrations  of  applause  and 
satisfaction  were  both  loud  and  lontr.  The  soldiers  seemed 
glad  to  see  these  high  officers,  and  the  officers  tlicmselves 
seemed   rather  to  enjoy  being  seen. 

A  considerable  time  was  spent  here  in  this  way.  Xobody 
appeared  to  be  in  any  luirry  to  terminate  the  matters  in  hand, 
or  to  proceed  with  anything  else  of  more  importance.  Those 
who  care  to  do  so,  may  now  speculate  and  philosophize  as  to 
what  might  have  happened,  h.ow  much  might  have  been  accom- 
plished for  humanity,  how  many  valuable  lives,  in  the  end, 
might  have  been  saved,  and  how  the  course  of  history  might 
have  been  changed,  if  those  generals  had  been  a  little  nearer 
the  front ;  if  they  had  been  more  definitely  advised  as  to  the 
exact  posture  of  aflPairs  at  that  point,  and  if  they  themselves 
and  those  about  them,  had  been  assiduously  engaged  in  urging 
forward  the  operations  of  the  army,  striving  to  promote 
greater  activity  and  zeal  in  all  cjuarters,  clearing  the  way  here, 
pushing  things  along  there,  all  laboring  with  might  and  main 
to  strike  a  speedy  and  telling  blow  somewhere.  Of  all  things, 
the  battle  of  Antietam  should  be  fought  to-day,  or,  at  the  far- 
thest, to-morrow.  The  Lost  Dispatch  states  explicitly,  over 
the  signature  of  his  adjutant  general,  that  a  large  part  of 
Lee's  army  is  now  absent  from  our  front.  By  to-morrow  even- 
ing, or  at  fartherest,  the  next  morning,  the  absentees  are 
expected  back.  These  things  have  been  abundantly  confirmed 
by  the  prisoners  taken  recentlv.  Is  this  a  time  for  pompous 
displays  of  vainty  and  dilly-dallying  measures  of  \arious  kinds  .'' 
When  the  Twenty-seventh  moved  it  followed  down  the  Sharps- 
burg  pike.  Sometime  towards  evening  it  went  in  to  bivouac 
above  the  Pry  house,  where  in  the  meantime,  McClellan  had 
established  his  headquarters. 

This  point  is  west  of  Antietam  creek,  but  near  it.  and 
was  near  the  position  of  the  enemy.  While  we  were  here  we 
used  water  from  the  spring  used  by  the  Pry  house.  The  picture 
of  this  house,  with  its  brick  spring  house,  a  short  distance  down 
the  hill,  and  rather  in  front  of  the  house,  is  familliar  to  the 
readersof  Harper's  Weekly,  Harper's  History  of  the  Rebellion, 
the  Century  Magazine,  and  other  publications.  To  one  stand- 
ing facing  this  house  the  position  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
would  be  a  short  distance  (not  much  over  one  hundred  vards) 
to  his  left. 

\Ve  remained  at    this   point  throughout    the  nigl.t   of   the 


236  HISTORY     Ol"    THE 

15th,  also  all  day,  and  part  of  the  night,  of  the  Kjtii.  Tiie 
ground  we  occupied,  though  not  especially  low,  was  protected 
by  higher  ground  some  distance  in  front.  From  that  higher 
ground  a  view  could  be  had  of  some  of  the  positions  of  the 
enemy.  Soldiers  of  the  Twenty-seyenth  relate  that  (ien.  IMc- 
Clellan  and  other  otficers  came,  during  the  afternoon  of  the 
16th,  and  were  taking  observations  from  this  high  ground.  So 
many  soldiers  gathered  about  them  that  they  drew  the  flie  of 
a  rebel  battery.  The  general  did  not  retire  himself,  but  he 
gave  personal  directions  for  the  soldiers  to  do  so.  The  writer 
does  not  personally  recall  the  incident. 

The  16th  of  September,  was  a  quiet  day  with  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  and  seemed  to  be  the  same  with  all  the  troops  in  our 
vicinity.  If  much  was  done  in  the  way  of  an  endeavor  to 
bring  matters  to  an  issue  it  must  have  been  done  entirely 
beyond  the  range  of  our  vision.  The  writer  remembers  dis- 
tinctly that  when  we  lay  down  that  night  there  was  a  division 
of  sentiment  among  us.  Part  believed  that  next  day  would 
witness  a  desperate  battle.  But  others  contended  that  it  could 
not  be  so,  as  nothhig  had  been  done  in  the  way  of  preparing 
for  it.  There  was  some  artillery  tiring  during  the  day,  and  at 
intervals  there  was  picket  firing.  Just  before  night  closed  in 
there  was  heavy  musketry  on  the  right. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


AXTIETAM. 

The  progress  of  events  brings  us  now  to  the  most 
momentous  day  in  the  liistory  of  the  Twenty-seventh — Sep- 
tember 17th,  18C2.  This  was  signalized  by  the  fierce  and 
sanguinary  battle  of  Antietam,  in  which  the  regiment  was 
destined  to  bear  a  creditable  part,  though  at  great  cost.  The 
Twentv-se\entli  not  only  suffered  a  greater  loss  at  Antietam 
than  in  any  other  one  of  its  engagements,  but  its  per  cent  of 
loss  was  also  greater.  The  members  of  the  regiment  and  its 
friends  are,  therefore,  constrained  to  regard  it  as  tlie  most 
important,  as  well  as  the  most  dramatic,  day  in  its  career. 

The  battle  of  Antietam  derived  its  name  from  the  creek 
along  which,  both  before  and  during  the  battle,  the  Union 
lines  were  drawn.  The  rebels  called  it  the  battle  of  Sharps- 
burg,  that  village  being  immediately  in  rear  of  their  lines. 
Sharpsburg  is  fifteeen  miles  up  the  Potomac  river  from  Har- 
per's Ferry,  on  the  Maryland  side. 

For  about  four  miles  from  where  the  Antietam  empties 
into  the  Potomac,  its  banks  are  high  and  steep.  At  that 
point,  owing  to  a  bend  in  the  Potomac,  the  creek  and  river 
are  less  than  two  miles  apart.  Across  that  narrow  neck  the 
rebel  leader  established  his  lines  of  battle,  resting  one  tlank 
on  the  creek  and  the  other  near  the  river.  It  was  naturally 
a  strong  position,  with  sunken  roads,  rocky  ledges  and  stout 
post-and-rail  fences  to  serve  as  protection  for  his  men.  and 
numerous  knolls,  ridges  and  patches  of  woodland,  behind 
which  to  conceal  his  movements. 

i\s  the  Union  armv  faced  its  adversarv.  the  ground  in 
front  of  its  left  wing  was  broken  and  rough.  At  its  extreme 
left,  the  creek  itself  was  deep  enough  to  be  a  serious  barrier, 
and  had  to  be  crossed  under  the  enemv's  lire.  A  little  more 
towards  its  right,  the  crossing  was  not  opposeil.  l)ut.  once 
over,  the  contest  had  to  be  waged  where  there  were  steep 
acclivities  and  deep  ravines.      At  almost  the  extreme    right   of 


238  HISTORY    OK    THE 

the  Union  army,  however,  the  tighting  was  done  in  widu, 
gently  undehiting  fields,  with  narrow  strips,  or  small  patches 
of  woodland  intervening.  The  interest  of  this  narrative  cen- 
ters upon  this  latter  part  of  the  battle-ground. 

Authorities,  and  memories  as  well,  differ  as  to  the  time 
when  the  Twenty-seventh,  with  the  other  regiments  of  the 
brigade,  left  its  position  near  the  Pry  house,  east  of  the 
creek.  It  is  not  very  important.  It  was  in  the  night,  after 
the  camp  had  been   wrapped  in  slumber. 

Tlie  awakening  was  not  by  the  usual  metliod  of  sc[ueaking 
hfe  and  rattling  drum.  On  the  contrary,  officers  went  to  the 
low  tents  of  the  men  and,  stooping  down,  called  in  subdued 
tones.  All  fires  or  lights  were  prohibited  and  orders  were 
stringent  against  noises  of  any  kind.  Packing  up  quickly. 
the  column  moved  stealthily  in  the  murky  darkness.  No  con- 
versation, except  in  whispers,  being  permitted,  there  was 
nothing  to  do,  but  each  to  follow  his  file  leader  and  meditate 
upon  the  situation. 

Davlight  found  the  regiments  of  the  Third  Brigade  massed 
close  together  and  resting  not  far  from  the  buildings  of  Mr. 
Melikoff.  These  buildings  stood  in  low-like  ground,  some- 
thing like  one  hundred  yards  east  of  the  Plagerstown  pike, 
and  from  four  to  six  hundred  yards  fui  ther  north,  and  a  little 
further  away  from  the  pike,  then  another  group  of  farm  build- 
ings marked  on  most  maps  as  Joseph   PotTenberger's. 

The  First  Corps,  under  Hooker,  occupies  the  front  lir.e. 
Our  own  little  corps,  for  which  we  are  just  beginning  to 
cherish  a  strong  sense  of  pride,  is  in  reserve.  In  the  first 
gray  dawn  the  pickets  open  fire.  Muskets  never  seem  to 
crack  so  loud  and  wicked  as  on  the  picket  line  when  a  great 
battle  is  expected.  A  few  shots  then  send  the  blood  whirl- 
ing to  the  finger-tips  of  the  whole  army.  Bang — bang — bang, 
bang,  bang,  bang,  bang  I  The  musketry  increases  rapidly, 
and  almost  immediately — boom,  boom,  boom! — the  cannon 
join  in,  to  increase  the  uproar.  These  are  the  signal  guns, 
announcing  a  day  of  fate.  In  a  very  short  time  the  battle 
has  assumed  large  proportions.  Judging  by  the  uproar,  the 
intrepid  and  devoted  men  of  the  First  Corps  are  swiftly  hurled 
against  the  enemy  in  masses. 

\\nien  the  firing  begins,  the  regiments  of  our  brigade  fall 
into  ranks,  and  the  Twenty-seventh  marches  forward  of  Mr. 
Melikoff's   log   barn,  only  a  few   rods.      The   regiment  i>  then 


TWKXTV-SEVEXTII     INDIAXA.  L'30 

thrown  into  column  of  divisions,  close  order,  arms  are  stacked, 
and  the  command  given:  "Rest  at  vvi  1  I  ""  We  are  nowr 
ready  for   any  order  that   may  come. 

While  we  wait,  many  of  the  men  pour  water  out  of  their 
canteens  into  their  little  tin  pails,  and  make  themselves  a  cup 
of  coffee, over  the  small  tires  we  have  been  permitted  to  kindle 
since  daylight.  With  this  black  coftee  and  the  crackers  and 
raw  pork  in  their  haversacks,  they  eat  a  soldiers  luncheon.  It 
seems  certain  that  we  must  very  soon  join  in  the  battle.  Few. 
if  any,  can  forget  that  this  may  be  the  last  food  they  will  taste 
in  this  world,  or  the  last,  as  well  men.  In  fact,  for  that  reason 
some  of  the  more  excitable  ones  cannot^eat  a  mouthful.  Others, 
not  overburdened  with  sentiment,  banteringly  allege  that  they 
intend  to  eat  all  the  more  on  that  account.  Yet,  in  one  way 
or  another,  it  is  clearly  revealed  that  the  situation  has  awak- 
ened grave  apprehensions  with  all.  Many  arrangements  are 
made,  quietly  yet  openly,  which  have  reference  to  a  possible 
dire  contingency.  \'aluables  and  keepsakes  are  handed  to 
members  of  tiie  ambulance  corps  and  others,  whose  duties  do 
not  require  them  to  be  greatly  exposed.  Directions  are  given 
and  recjuests  are  made,  concerning  business  matters  at  home, 
the  care  of  those  dear  and  dependent,  messages  to  friends, 
and,  in  some  instances,  concerning  the  final  disposition  of 
one's  own  mortal  remains.  Among  some  curious  preparations 
that  morning  was,  that  numerous  packs  of  playing-cards  were 
taken  out  of  the  pockets  and  thrown  away.  This  fact  was 
once  mentioned  in  the  presence  of  a  veteran  soldier,  who  said 
he  had  never  seen  anything  of  the  kind.  The  members  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  will  doubtless  confirm  the  statement  that  it 
was  not  only  true  here,  but  at  many  other  places,  with  us. 

Our  position  is  a  little  to  one  side  of  the  range  of  the 
enemy's  artillery.  W^e  can  see  dozens  and  scores  of  shells  as 
they  sail  harmlessly  by,  describing  graceful  curves.  Under 
other  circumstances  we  might  enjoy  the  display.  Numerous 
laige  round  shot,  aimed  lower,  also  go  bounding  along,  plow- 
ing furrows  in  the  ground  and  crashing  through  whatever  thev 
come  in  contact  with. 

The  wounded  are  coming  back  in  large  numbers.  Manv, 
though  badly  hurt,  are  able  to  walk  alone,  many  others  are 
assisted  to  walk,  and  some  are  carried  or  hauled.  Most  of 
those  passing  near  enough  have  something  to  say.  Every 
word  is  one  of  encouragement   and   cheer.      These  heroic  men 


:240  HISTOHV    OK    THE 

are  torn  and   bleeding,  some   of   them   are    dying,  but  none  of 
them  are  whipped  or  demoralized. 

Upon  the  higher  ground  to  our  right,  one  lone,  panicked 
•"  skedadler"  runs  by.  Judge  of  the  character  of  the  troops  in 
-our  front  when  the  fact  is  stated,  and  it  is  a  fact,  that  this  was 
the  only  able-bodied  soldier  we  saw  running  out  of  the  fight! 
This  one  is  in  a  cornfield  and  runs  zigzag  among  the  corn, 
dodging  frantically  from  one  hill  across  to  another  in  the 
opposite  row,  as  if  trying  to  escape  from  a  swarm  of  bees.  At 
the  sound  of  a  passing  shell  he  throws  himself  upon  the  ground 
and  remains  motionless,  with  his  nose  rooted  in  the  soil,  while 
the  shell  goes  a  mile.  This  is  the  more  ludicrous  to  us  because 
we  can  see  the  shell,  and  can  see  plainly  that,  besides  having 
passed  him  before  he  fell  down,  it  had  missed  him  by  a  wide 
margin  anywav.  Eventually  he  jumps  to  his  feet  and  runs 
as  before.  While  the  boys  laugh,  they  also  guy  him  unmerci- 
fully, heaping  upon  him  epithets  far  more  true  than  compli- 
mentarv.      But  nothing  stops  him. 

Meanwnile  the  battle  is  raging.  For  three  hundred  yards 
in  our  front  the  ground  rises  gradually.  It  seems  to  us  that  if 
we  were  over  the  crest  we  would  be  near  the  conflict.  Really 
it  is  three-fourths  of  a  mile  beyond  that.  The  roar  of  cannon 
is  incessant  and  the  discharge  of  musketry  is  far  more  than  a 
continous  rattle.  There  are  almost  no  breaks  in  the  detona- 
tions, like  reports  of  individual  muskets.  There  is  a  succession 
of  great  waves  of  sound,  one  following  another,  as  if  brigades 
or  divisions  are  firing  in  rapid,  well-timed  volleys.  Inter- 
mingled with  the  artillery, musketry  and  cheers  of  the  combat- 
tants,  are  other  sounds  not  distinguishable.  It  is  a  commin- 
gling and  confusion  of  noises  as  it  rolls  over  the  hill  like  a 
deluge. 

The  progress  of  a  devastating  cyclone,  with  its  lashing  and 
snapping  of  trees,  its  creaking  and  grating  of  buildings  rent 
assunder  and  toppling  over,  its  screaming  and  shrieking  of 
men  and  animals,  in  mortal  terror  and  agony,  and  a  thousand 
other  ear-splitting,  blood-curdling  sounds,  all  added  to  the 
rush  and  roar  of  the  wind,  the  darkening  of  the  clouds,  the 
blinding  of  the  dust  and  the  rumble  and  peal  of  the  thunder, 
is  the  only  other  human  experience  that  the  writer  would  ven- 
ture to  compare  with  a  battle,  such  as  we  were  waiting  to 
enter  that  morning. 

We   have  waited,   since   stacking  arms,  much  longer  than 


TWEXTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA. 


241 


we  anticipated.  It  has  been  a  full  hour  of  straining  suspense. 
But  the  order  has  come  to  our  corps  commander,  "  Send  for- 
ward a  division."  We  see  Gen.  Mansfield  riding  towards  us 
and  surmise  correctly  that  he  is  coming  to  order  our  di\ision 

in. 


Maj.-Gen.  J.  K.  Mansfield. 
(Killed  at  Antietam.) 


The  old  general  had  much  of  the  courtly,  but  not  oflen- 
sive  dignity  which  seems  to  have  characterized  the  officers  of 
the  old  army,  before  the  war.  His  bearing  that  morning  as 
he  rode  around  among  his  troops,  his  long  white  hair  stream- 
ing in  the  wind,  elicted  great  admiration.  He  sat  erect  and 
graceful  in  his  saddle  and  gave  his  orders  quietly  but  firniix-; 
withal,  he  was  so  kind  and  fatherly, 

Before  the  order  "Fall  in  "  is  given  the  boys  run  to  ti.eir 
places,  ready  at  the  word  to  seize  their  muskets.  As  they 
stand  thus  in  ranks  they  greet  the  old  general  with  cheers. 
He  removes  his  hat  in  acknowledgement,  and  shouts  :  "  That's 
right,  Iwys  ;  you  may  well  cheer.  W'e  are  going  to  whip  them 
to-dav."'      These  statements  arc  received  with  still  more  checr- 

16 


242  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ing;.  especially  the  nlhisioii  to  a  victory.  At  the  command  we 
take  arms  and  move  forward,  formed  as  we  are.  To  our  right 
in  plain  view  are  the  Third  Wisconsin  and  Second  Massachu- 
setts. In  support  are  the  Thirteentli  New  Jersey  and  One 
Hundred  and  Seventh  New  York. 

We  move  srraight  toward  the  firing  in  front.  At  one 
point  only  the  Twenty-seventh  obliques  to  the  right,  to  avoid 
what  in  Indiana  we  call  a  buttonwood  pond.  With  this 
exception  our  line,  from  the  starting  point  to  where  we  finally 
halt  and  open  fire,  is  practicallv  straight. 

^Vhen  we  arrive  at  the  top  of  the  slope  we  find  ourselves 
•on  the  edge  of  a  rather  smooth  and  level  tract  of  table  land, 
extending  on  before  us  more  than  half  a  mile.  Advancing 
on,  w'e  come  to  a  narrow  strip  of  open  timber,  extending  back 
from  Mr.  PofFenberger's  barn.  Just  before  entering  this  tim- 
ber we  encounter  two  stake-and-rider  fences,  bordering  a  nar- 
row lane.  To  push  these  down  sufficient  for  us  to  scramble 
over  them  is  only  the  work  of  a  moment.  But  it  breaks  our 
formation  somewhat  and,  once  among  the  big  trees,  we  halt 
antl  readjust  our  ranks.  In  the  pause  we  can  hear  a  peculiar 
singing,  humming  noise  in  the  tree  tops.  Looking  up,  the 
air  seems  to  be  in  motion,  only  there  is  no  movement  aniong 
the  limbs.  Twigs  and  shredded- leaves  are  sifting  dowm  as  if 
an  army  of  locusts  was  at  work  in  this  grove.  It  is  canister 
and  shrapnel  hurled  at  the  troops  in  front  and  at  us  in  tons,  by 
the  rebel  batteries.  Massed  as  we  are,  we  afford  them  a  tempt- 
ing mark,  though  their  aim   is  too  high. 

During  that  brief  pause  the  writer,  for  some  reason,  hap- 
pened to  notice  a  large,  straight-bodied  tree.  He  took  it  to 
be  a  black  oak,  from  its  resemblance  to  trees  of  that  species  in 
the  forests  of  Indiana.  On  his  return  to  this  grove,  in  1889, 
he  was  careful  to  look  for  this  big  tree.  It  was  still  standing, 
though  it  proved  to  be  a  gum  instead  of  a  black  oak. 

Among  other  things,  we  unsling  knapsacks  in  this  narrow^ 
strip  of  woods.  We  then  move  on,  and,  just  beyond  the  tim- 
ber, the  command  is  given.  -'Battalion,  deploy  into  line  of 
battle,  double  quick,  march  I'"  The  leading  division  marks 
time,  while  the  others  move  promptly  up  and  align  with 
it.  The  ofticers,  except  the  colonel,  take  their  positions  in 
the  rear,  while  the  forward  movement  continues  at  a  slow, 
measured  pace. 

No    soldiers    ever    had    a   better    example    of  unlUnching 


TWENTV-SEVEX  111     INDIANA.  24  i» 

courage  or  of  cool,  self-poised  leadership  tliaii  our  colonel  gave 
us  that  morning  as  we  marched  such  a  long  distance  under 
tire.  His  place  was  really  in  rear  of  the  line,  but  he  chose  rather 
to  ride  quite  a  little  ahead  of  it.  With  quiet  ease  he  bestrode 
his  horse,  setting  his  face  straight  to  the  front,  except  when  it 
was  necessary  for  him  to  turn  to  give  commands.  About  the 
time  the  regiment  deployed  into  line  one  of  the  men  was 
killed,  others  were  wounded  as  we  advanced,  yet  he  rode 
quietly  on.  There  was  not  a  twitching  of  a  muscle,  not  a 
quaver  of  the  voice,  not  a  movement  or  condition  of  anv  kind, 
which  indicated  that  he  felt  himself  in  the  least  personal 
danger,  or  was  in  any  way  influenced  by  his  peculiar 
^urr^Jundings, 

Xor  is  this  example  of  the  colonel  out  of  keeping  with 
the  balance  of  the  regiment.  The  alignment  could  not  have 
been  better,  the  step  more  regular  or  the  movement  more  pre- 
cise and  quiet,  if  we  had  been  passing  the  grand  stand  on 
review.  Every  man  walks  erect,  looks  straight  to  the  front, 
touches  elbows  g  ntly  to  the  right,  and  there  is  perfect  still- 
ness in  the  ranks. 

Since  passing  through  the  strip  of  timber,  part  of  the 
l)attletield  is  open  before  us.  Both  combatants  appear  to  be 
well  ngh  exhausted.  Our  people  are  mostly  retiring  slowly,  but 
the  enemy  show  no  disposition  to  follow.  Our  troops  withdraw 
on  a  line  largely  which  carries  them  at  a  distance  from  our  col- 
umn. Only  one  remnant  of  a  regiment  moves  directly  towards 
us.  The  men  go  wild  with  joy  and  enthusiasm  at  the  sight  of 
reinforcements.  They  not  only  jump  up  and  down  and  scream 
with  delight,  but  they  also  fill  the  air  with  their  caps,  haver- 
sacks, canteens,  rolls  of  blankets,  and  whatever  else  they  have 
about  them  to  toss  upward.  They  abound  in  true  grit  also. 
Instead  of  passing  around  us  and  on  to  the  rear,  as  they  might 
honorably  do,  they  about  face,  reform  their  ranks,  and  move 
back  before  us,  to  renew  the  struggle. 

At  length  we  halt  and  dress  the  line  as  usual.  Then  tiie 
Colonel  commands,  '•  Guides  post  !'■  and  gallops  around  the 
right  wing  of  the  regiment,  to  take  his  position  in  the  rear. 
This  is  where  we  are  to  do  our  bloody  work,  and  where  the 
bloody  work  is  to  be  done  to  us.  A  person  coming  here 
tnonths  afterwards,  as  many  of  the  T-vvcnty-seventh  did.  will 
linil  this  position  distinctly  marked  by  the  catridge  papers 
dropped  at  this  time.      The  ground   is   then   thickly    plastered 


■2U 


HISTORY    OF    TIIK 


with  them  and.  from  one  liank  of  the  rei^iment  to  the  other,  the 
line  is  as  straioflit   as  a  gun  barrel. 


y-  >"^AT.r,,, 


During  the  biief  Cjuiet  that  now  ensues  let  us  farther 
locate  this  position.  We  are  in  David  R.  Miller's  field.  His 
farm  house  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  or  so  to  our  right. 
We  face  almost  south,  with  a  slight  inclination  to  the  west 
Seventy  steps  in  front  of  our  line,  and  exactlv  parallel  with 
it,  is  a  fence,  bordering  a  cornfield.  This  field  is  something 
like  a  right-angled  triangle.  The  side  next  tons  is  its  shortest 
side.  The  turnpike,  to  our  right,  borders  its  longest  side.  Its 
third  side,  to  our  left,  borders  a  cloverlield.  If  the  fence 
between  the  cornfield  and  cloverfield  was  extended  toward-, 
our  position  it  would  pass  through  one  of  our  left  com|:)anie-. 
Hence  the  extreme  left  of  the  Twenty-seventh  faces  the 
cloverfield,  while  most  of  the  regiment  faces  the  cornfield. 

The  fence  running  parallel  with  our  line,  :nid  seventy 
steps  in  front    of    it,  has    been   partially    torn    down,   Init    still 


TWEXTY-SEVEXTir    IXDIAXA. 


■24o 


affords  considerable  shelter  to  men.  when  lying  behind  it. 
Immediately  to  our  left  is  the  timber,  known  in  the  history  of 
the  battle  as  "  East  woods."  Across  the  fields,  to  our  front 
mil  right,  we  can  see  the  white  Dunker  church,  with  the  tim- 
ber behind  it,  known  as  ''  West  woods."'  When  we  first 
reach  this  position  a  house,  some  distance  beyond  us,  but 
somewhat  to  our  left,  is  on  fire.  The  roof  mav  have  just  fallen 
in.      The  ilames  burn  fierce  and  strong,  but  not  high. 


The  Di'NKEK  Ciilkcii  ox  Axiietam   1>.\  r  ii.i:i- iiu.i). 

As  the  Twenty-seventh  takes  position  at  this  point,  the 
Third  Wisconsin  also  takes  position  immediatelv  on  our  right. 
The  line  of  both  regiments  follows  the  crest  of  a  slight  swell 
in  the  giound.  At  the  same  time,  the  Second  Massachusetts 
is  lost  to  our  view  as  it  passes  into  Mr.  Miller's  orchard. 
The  Thirteenth  New  Jersey'  and  One  Hundred  and  Seventh 
Xew  York  have  been  ordered  to  halt  within  supporting  dis- 
tance, in  the  rear. 

'1  hough  we  have  not  fired    a    nni>ket  while    advancing  to 


:24(3  HISTORY  of  the 

tliis  position,  when  we  re:ich  it,  and  the  Colonel  passes  to  the 
rear,  we  open  an  irregular  tire.  The  ditliculty  is  to  see  the 
enemy.  He  is  lying  down  among  the  corn.  Another  dit^culty 
is  that  our  own  men  have  not  entirely  withdrawn  from  our 
front.  But  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  cooly  stand  with 
their  muskets  at  a  ready,  and,  when  they  clearly  recognize  a 
soldier  in  gray,  they  take  deliberate  aim  and  fire,  taking  the 
greatest  care  that  they  do  not  hurt  any  who  wear  the  l:)lue. 

Not  for  long,  however,  do  we  have  to  watch  for  and  shoot 
at  an  obscure  mark.  Col.  Colgrove  says,  in  his  report,  after 
speaking  of  the  enemy  that  was  concealed  among  the  corn  : 
••  Immediately  in  front,  or  beyond  the  cornfield,  upon  open 
ground,  at  a  distance  of  about  four  hundred  yards,  were  three 
regiments  in  line  of  battle,  and  further  to  the  right,  on  a  high 
ridge  of  ground,  was  still  another  regiment  in  line,  diagonal! v 
to  our  line."  These  rebels  are  visible  to  us  from  the  start,  but 
out  of  range.  Soon  after  we  come  to  a  halt  they  begin  to 
move  towards  us. 

Thev  would  soon  sutler  more  from  our  fire,  but,  about  the 
time  they  arrive  in  fair  range,  that  same  unfortunate  mis- 
understanding about  who  are  our  men,  and  who  are  not.  again 
prevails  for  a  time,  along  at  least  part  of  our  line.  It  must 
have  originated  in  the  Colonel's  caution  not  to  tire  into  the  few 
Union  soldiers  still  in  front  of  us,  but  nearer  to  us.  It  is 
mostlv  the  error  of  line  ofticers  and  tile-closers.  Being  behind 
the  line,  they  can  not  see  as  clearly  as  the  men  in  tlie  ranks. 
It  w-as  the  only  time  that  such  a  cjuestion  was  ever  raised 
when  the  writer  w^as  present,  and  he  remembers  of  looking 
closely  at  the  advancing  rebels.  It  was  impossible,  at  the 
distance  they  were  then  away,  to  distinguish  them  from  Uniom 
troops,  by  their  appearance  alone.  In  the  haze  or  smoke 
which  rested  upon  the  field,  their  uniforms  looked  as  much 
like  blue  as  gray.  Their  flags  also  hung  down  in  the  still  air. 
showing  the  same  colors  as  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  the 
closest  scrutiny  failed  to  reveal  any  difference. 

On  other  grounds,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  deciding. 
Some  of  us  had  observed  them  since  before  they  began  to 
advance.  They  were  then  unquestionably  behind  the  men 
who  were  firing  upon  us,  and  near  a  battery,  which  we  cou'd 
plainly  see  belching  its  missiles  in  our  direction,  with  might 
antl  main. 

Of  course,  the    matter  is  not    long  in  diN]nite,  and    has   no 


TWENTY-SEVK.N'l  II     INDIANA.  247 

worse  effect  than  to  retard  the  Hring  for  a  time.  Even  before 
the  question  has  been  settled  in  all  (juarters,  the  voice  of  the 
Colonel  rings  out  like  a  clarion  :  "  I)attalion,  make  ready!  "' 
Instantly  a  hush  falls  upon  the  line.  From  one  end  of  it  to 
the  other  can  be  heard  the  click  of  the  locks,  as  the  hammers 
arc  pulled  back.  Before  giving  the  rest  of  the  command,  the 
colonel  says  :  "  Xow,  aim  good  and  low,  boys  !  "  "Aim  low. 
boys,  aim  low  !  "  is  repeated  by  the  line  officers.  Then  the 
Colonel  :   "Take  aim,  fire  !  "" 

With  instant  desperation  we  all  spring  to  the  work  of 
loading  and  firing  at  will.  Still,  those  who  glance  at  the 
enemy  will  see  that  that  volley  was  a  very  damaging  one. 
That  the  line  against  which  it  was  directed  would  certainly 
have  broken  before  it,  if  all  parts  of  it  had  been  equally  in- 
jured, is  evident.  It  appears  as  if  almost  half  of  the  men  had 
stumbled  and  fallen.  The  others  halt  and  begin  mixing  among 
themselves,  as  if  confused  about  something.  We  can  see  the 
officers  exerting  themselves  very  energetically.  They  wave 
their  swords  threateninglv.  and  even  seize  hold  of  the  men, 
turn  them  around  and  shove  them  forward.  In  this,  the 
writer  is  recounting  exactly  what  he  saw  himself.  The  officers 
were  hard  put  to  to  keep  the  line  from  demor.ilization. 

In  the  meantime,  most  of  us  have  loaded  and  tired  again, 
or  even  more  than  once.  Our  tire  soon  brings  those  of  the 
enemy  more  directly  m  front  of  us  to  a  standstill.  Instead 
of  trying  to  advance,  thev  drop  duwn  among  the  corn  and  in- 
crease their  fire  upon  us. 

But,  slightly  to  the  left  of  these  (our  left)  is  a  regiment 
which  continues  to  advance.  They  load  and  tire  as  they  come. 
They  make  a  slight  detour  further  to  our  left,  apparently  to 
take  advantage  of  a  depression  of  the  ground.  On  and  on 
they  press,  until  they  reach  the  fence,  only  seventy  steps  in 
front  of  the  Twenty-seventh.  Those  who  observe  them — how 
eager  and  persistent  they  are.  stooping  forward  like  a  hunter 
stalking  his  prey,  at  last  making  one  vigorous  dash  up  to  the 
fence  and  throwing  themselves  down  behind  it —will  not  soon 
forget  the  sight. 

It  is  from  these  men  that  the  Twenty-seventh  now  receives 
its  worst  punishment.  It  is  to  the  time  immediately  alter  they 
reach  the  fence  that  Col.  Colgrove  refers  when  he  says  :  "  At 
one  time  *  *  "  the  fire  of  the  enemy  was  so  terriblv  de- 
structive it  seemed  that  our  little  force  would  be  entirely  anni- 


iM^ 


HISTORY     OF    THE 


( 


^ 


gP^ 


J  .    • 


'1 


,1  /■ 


-'..^ 


|i^^  ^  /^ 


<T" 


K.^.'^ 


-  w 

■< 
O 


(.  ♦ 


h 


C 


c 


f 
\ 


ft 


Pi; 


M 


5  < 


< 

fe 

5 

0 

>^ 

w 

— ' 

J 

™ 

H 

" 

E-< 

i^ 

23 

> 

ig 

Sl 

T\VEN'TV-SE\'E.\  ril     INDIANA.  249 

hilated."  vSo,  indeed,  it  did.  Who  ever  tried  to  .stand  before 
a  more  withering,  consuming  bkist  than  we  do  now.'  Every 
one  that  the  e3'e  rests  upon,  even  for  a  moment,  is  seen  to  fall. 
A  soldier  makes  a  peculiar  noise  in  loading  his  gun,  which 
attracts  attention,  but  when  we  turn  to  look  at  him  he  falls. 
Another  makes  what  he  considers  a  good  shot,  and  laughs  over 
it.  When  others  turn  to  inquire  tiie  cause,  he  falU.  A  third 
turns  to  tell  the  man  in  the  rear  rank  not  to  tire  so  close  to  his 
face.  Others  glance  in  that  direction,  only  to  see  botii  fall. 
All  of  these  instances,  and  otiiers,  are  observed  by  the  writer  at 
almost  the  same  moment. 

We  are  standing  out  in  perfectly  open  ground.  Not  as 
much  as  a  frail  spear  of  grass  shields  anvone.  from  the  crown 
of  his  head  to  the  soles  of  his  feat.  All  stand  perfectly  erect. 
From  tirst  to  last  not  a  man  lies  down,  kneels  or  stoops,  unless 
he  is  hurt.  Moreover,  we  touch  elbows  constantly.  As  fast 
as  men  fall  out  we  close  up  the  gaps,  presenting  at  all  times 
an  unbroken  front.  The  Hle-closers  have  work  to  do,  and  they 
do  it  well.  There  is  a  continuous  shouting  of  "Close  up! 
Close  up !" 

How  long  this  continues  will  never  be  known  precisely. 
Col.  Colgrove  says  in  his  report,  '•  It  must  have  been  more  than 
two  hours."  He  stated  in  after  years  that  we  were  under  tire 
at  Antietem  two  hours  and  forty  minutes.  .Suffice  it  to  say, 
that  to  us  it  seemed  an  age.  We  have  tired  as  high  as  eightv, 
ninety,  and  even  one  hundred  rounds  each.  Many  of  our 
muskets  have  becoine  so  foul  that  we  can  no  longer  ram  a  ball 
down  them,  and  we  have  exchanged  them  for  those  dropped 
by  the  killed  and  wounded.  In  other  cases  muskets  have  been 
exchanged  because  they  were  so  hot  that  men  were  afraid  to 
load  them.  For  some  time  otiioers  and  others  have  been  gather- 
ing cartridges  from  the  boxes  of  those  hurt  and  distributing  them 
to  those  who  remain.  It  seems  a  miracle  that  anvone  should 
still  remain  uniiurt.  \'erv  few,  indeed,  are  entirely  so.  There 
is  scarcely  a  man  on  whom  blood  has  not  been  drawn  in  some 
way. 

It  requires  something  more  than  a  scratch  to  send  men  to 
the  rear.  A  man  in  one  of  the  companies — a  typical  Hoosier, 
tall,  gaunt,  and  slow-spoken,  but  every  inch  a  hero — is  des- 
perately wounded.  He  lays  his  gun  down  ami  goes  to  the 
rear  a  short  distance  and  calmly  investigates.  At  length  he 
says,  in  his  drawling  way  :   '•  Wall,  I  guess  I'm    hurt  about  as 


:?5()  IIISTOHV     Ol-     THE 

bad  as  I  can  be.  I  believe  FlI  go  back  and  give  'em  some 
more."  So  he  does.  He  walks  slowly  back,  picks  up  his^ 
gun  and  continues  to  load  and  tire.  In  another  case  a  man  is 
mortally  wounded  and  lying  upon  the  ground,  exposed  to  fur- 
ther injury,  but  he  refuses  the  offer  of  his  own  brother  to 
remove  him  to  a  place  of  safety.  He  bids  him,  rather,  to 
remain  where  he  is  more  needed. 

But  we  have  not  been  tiring  for  nothing  all  this  time.  If 
only  a  few  of  us  are  left,  the  enemy  has  suffered  in  at  least 
equal  proportion.  It  is  most  unfortunate  that  our  line  was 
not  established  along  the  fence,  instead  of  where  it  is,  or.  fail- 
ing in  that,  that  a  flanking  column  was  not  thrown  forward 
sooner,  toentilade  the  enemy's  line  behind  the  fence.  Either 
course  would  easily  have  saved  much  of  the  sad.  sad  loss  in  the 
Twenty-seventh  and  Third  Wisconsin. 

As  it  is,  those  who  are  thinning  our  ranks  so  rapidly  are 
not  left  to  accomplish  their  work  unmolested.  The  attention 
of  more  and  more  of  our  men  is  directed  to  those  behind  the 
tence.  and  our  tire  is  concentrated  upon  that  point.  They 
doubtless  think  it  is  raining  le;id  where  thev  are.  After  tliC 
battle  a  single  rail  was  found  in  that  fence  having  forty  live 
musket-balls  in  it.  V\'e  observe  increasing  signs  of  uneasiness 
among  all  the  men  in  our  front:  There  has  been  a  steady 
stream  of  them  passing  to  the  rear.  The  writer  noticed  many 
diflferent  n^en  with  muskets  spring  up  quickly  at  one  point 
along  the  fence,  and  run,  and  drop  down  at  another  pomt. 
The  men  in  the  corn  are  likewise  changing  their  positions 
frequently,  and  circulating  among  each  other,  more  than  they 
did. 

At  length  the  piercing  tones  of  Col.  Colgrove's  voice  are 
again  heard.  The  command  is  :  "  Fix  bayonets  I"'  As  we  are 
in  the  act  of  doing  this  we  see  our  antagonists  rise  up  and 
move  brisklv  awav.  without  anv  regard  to  order.  \\  e,  of 
course,  go  wild  with  jov,  and  begin  to  cheer  with  all  our 
might.  Simultaneous  with  our  cheers,  we  hear  cheering  both 
to  our  right  and  left.  A  glance  shows  us  that,  on  our  right, 
the  Second  Massachusetts  has  swung  around,  past  Miller's 
house,  and  is  moving  out  into  the  cornlleld.  On  our  left,  troops 
of  our  Second  Division  ha\e  come  up  through  the  woods 
and  are  now  charging  into  the  open  ground,  in  splendid 
style.  Leading  them  quite  a  distance,  we  recognize  our 
grizzled   friend  of    Williamsport,  and  the  subsequent  march — 


TWKNIV    SKX'KNl'ir     INDIANA, 


251 


Gen.  Green.     Bareheaded,  wilh    drawn  sword,  and   horse   at  a 
stiff  trot,  his  was  a  tii^uie  to  remember. 

At  the  command,  our  line  moves  forward.  Down  the 
modest  slope  to  the  tra*,nc  fence,  over  that  and  on,  between 
the  bloody  corn  rows,  with  their  cut  and  hackled  corn-stalks, 
advancing  our  left  as  we  go,  we  do  not  halt  until  near 
the  strong  post-and-rail  fence,  boi  dering  tlie  turnpike.  The 
enemy  have  leaped  this  fence  and  escaped  into  the  timber 
bevond. 


Rebel  Dead  ix  fkdnt  ov  East  Woods. 


This  practically  terminates  our  tighting  for  tiie  day. 
There  is  more  bloody  lighting  by  others,  but  the  Twenty-sev- 
enth is  not  ordered  to  participate  actively.  Our  brigade  is  in 
the  act  of  forming  for  a  further  advance,  when  a  strong  divi- 
sion of  Sumner's  corps  (Sedgwick's)  moves  up  from  a  direc- 
tion somewhat  to  our  left  and  relieves  us.  A  fact  often 
mentioned  by  historians  in  this  connection  is  well  remembered 
by  us,  namely,  that  the  white  haired  Sumner,  wilh  his  hat  in 
one  hand  and  his  sword  in  the  other,  led  this  column  into 
action.  He  was  another  oKl  man  who  still  retained  the  lire 
and  energy  of  youth. 

On  being  relieved     the  Twcntv-seventh  mo\ed  back  close 


252  HISTORY    OF    THE 

to  the  edge  of  the  East  woods,  wliere  we  replenished  our  cart- 
ridge-boxes and  then  our  equally  vacant  stomachs.  Col.  Coi- 
grove  savs  we  went  into  battle  without  anv  breakfast.  He 
doubtless  did  so  himself,  as  the  men  did  also,  with  the  excep- 
tions previously  mentioned.  \Vhatever  was  eaten  then  was 
without  any  orders  bearing  upon  the  subject.  We  also  cleaned 
our  guns  at  this  time  or,  exchanged  them  for  others,  of  which 
there  were  hundreds  scattered  about  everywhere. 

It  is,  perhaps,  scarcely  necessary  to  state  that  the  Twen- 
t^'-seventh  was  greatly  reduced  in  numbers.  It  was  even 
more  reduced  than  the  long  list  of  casualties  would  indicate. 
In  addition  to  those  who  were  finallv  reported  wounded,  others 
should  have  been  so  reported,  and  still  others  were  temporarilv 
disabled.  All  told,  not  enough  were  now  present  to  make 
one  fair-sized  company. 

Nevertheless,  the  regiment  responded  with  alacrity  to 
every  call  of  duty.  In  checking  some  temporary  reverses  and 
in  supporting  batteries,  the  Twenty-seventh,  sometimes  in 
connection  with  other  regiments  of  the  brigade  and  sometimes 
alone,  spent  what  remained  of  the  day.  We  did  not  remain 
long  in  one  place.  At  no  time  were  we  very  far  behind  the 
battle  line,  a  portion  of  the  time,  later  in  the  day,  constituting 
a  part  of  it.  Throughout  the  entire  day  we  were  exposed 
either  to  artillery  or  musketry  fire,  or  both. 

At  one  of  the  times,  later  in  the  day,  when  the  exposure 
was  considerable  from  overshots,  Capt.  Kopp,  of  Company  F, 
was  mortally  wounded.  The  circumstances  attending  it  were 
an  illustration,  both  of  the  curious  way  casualties  may  come 
in  battle  and  of  their  curious  eflPects.  The  captain  had  passed 
through  the  extreme  exposure  of  the  morning  untouched.  It 
is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  many  bullets  were  then 
fired  at  him  directly,  at  short  range,  without  any  of  them  hit- 
ting him  ;  but  now  he  falls  by  a  stray  bullet,  not  fired  at  him 
at  all. 

Another  curious  circumstance  was  that  when  first  hit  he 
supposed  the  injury  was  in  his  lower  limbs.  He  exclaimed, 
apparently  in  great  pain,  that  both  of  his  legs  were  broken. 
As  he  was  being  carried  to  an  ambulance,  what  was  the  sur- 
prise of  all  to  see  him  suddenly  rise  up  and  walk.^  The  wound 
was  really  in  his  body,  but  rhe  spinal  column  had  been 
injured. 

About  5:00  P.   M.  a  fresh  corps  ( l''ranklin"s)  came   to  the 


TWEXTV-SEVEXTH     INDIANA,  253 

front  and  was  formed  for  a  final  assault,  near  the  Dunker 
church.  Our  brigade  was  ordered  by  Gen.  McClellan  in  per- 
son to  form  behind  it  as  a  support.  All  of  the  regiments 
responded  with  a  cheer.  In  the  light  of  what  is  now  known 
as  to  the  weakness  of  the  enemy's  left,  at  that  time,  it  is  most 
disheartening  that  the  assault  was  not  made.  It  really  seems 
that  the  rebel  commander  could  j^afely  take  any  kind  of  ribk 
under  McClellan's  very  nose.  If  the  battle  had  been  renewed 
the  weary  and  smoke  begrimed  soldiers  of  Gordon's  brigade 
were  ready.  On  this  point  Col.  Colgrove's  testimony  is  plain 
and  to  the  point.  He  says,  ''At  night  I  was  temporarily  by 
you  (Gordon),  placed  in  command  of  the  brignde,  and  the 
brigade  marched  to  the  front,  and  nearest  to  the  enemy,  in 
support  of  our  batteries  in  front.  Although  our  men  had 
gone  into  the  light  without  breakfast,  and  had  fought  all  day, 
they  performed  this  arduous  duty,  not  only  without  grumbling, 
but  w.th  cheerfulness. 

A  vast  amount  has  naturally  been  written  about  this 
battle,  with  more  to  follow.  In  this  the  Twenty-seventh  has 
not  been  without  some  share. 

Col,  Colgrove  made  his  written  report  five  days  after  the 
engagement.  He  states,  with  commendable  accuracy,  the 
salient  facts  relating  to  the  services  and  movements  of  the 
regiment  that  day,  including,  in  part,  its  relation  to  the  bri- 
gade as  a  whole.  He  refrains,  as  usual,  from  fulsome  adula- 
tions of  his  own  command,  and  insinuations  or  reflections  as 
to  others.  But  he  shows  a  disposition  always  to  speak  a  good 
word  for  either,  when  deserving  of  it.  With  reference  to  our 
desperate  encounter  with  the  enemy,  he  says  : 

"  The  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  regiment  moved  to  a  point  designated 
by  you  (Gordon),  and  formed  their  line  of  battle  on  a  swell  of  ground 
immediately  in  front  of  a  cornfield,  in  which  the  battle  had  been  raging 
for  some  time.  Our  troops  in  the  cornfield,  a  part  of  Gen.  Hooker's  divi- 
sion, had  been  l)a(Uy  cut  up,  and  were  slowly  retreating.  When  we  first 
gained  our  position,  the  cornfield,  or  nearly  all  of  it,  was  in  possession 
of  the  enemy.  This  Held  was  on  a  low  piece  of  ground,  the  corn  very 
heavy,  and  serving,  to  some  extent,  to  screen  the  enemy  from  view.  Yet 
the  colors  and  battle-flags  of  several  regiments,  appearing  above  the 
corn,  indicated  the  advance  of  the  enemy  in  force.  Immediatelv  in  front, 
beyond  the  cornfield,  upon  open  ground,  at  a  distance  oi  about  four  hun- 
dred yards,  were  three  regiments  in  line  of  battle;  and  still  farther  to  the 
right,  on  a  high  ridge  of  ground,  was  still  another  regiment  in  line,  diag- 
onally to  our  line.  When  we  first  took  our  pos  tion,  it  was  impossible  for 
us  to  open  fire  uiion  the  enemy  without  firing  into  our  own  troops,  who 


:?54  HISTOIJV     OF    TIIK 

wt^re  retreatins^  out  of  the  corntieki.  As  soon  as  those  troops  had  tileti 
past  my  left,  I  immediately  ordered  my  regiment  to  fire,  which  was  done 
in  good  order.  The  firing  was  very  heavy  on  both  sides,  and  must  have 
continued  for  more  than  two  hours,  without  any  change  of  position  on 
either  side.  It  was  very  evident,  from  the  firing,  that  the  enemy  was 
greatly  superior  in  numbers  at  this  point.  The  only  force,  during  this 
time  at  this  place,  engaged,  was  the  three  regiments  of  your  brigade.  At 
one  tfme,  during  this  part  of  the  engagement,  the  fire  of  the  enemy  was 
so  terribly  destructive  that  it  seemed  our  little  force  would  be  entirely 
annihilated.  After  the  fight  had  raged  for  about  two  hours,  without  any 
])erceptible  advantage  on  either  side,  some  of  our  forces — I  have  not 
learned  whose — came  up  on  our  left,  in  a  piece  of  woods  on  the  left  of 
the  cornfield,  and  opened  an  enfilading  fire  upon  the  enemy.  This  fire 
and  ours,  in  their  front,  soon  proved  too  hard  for  them.  They  broke,  and 
fled  in  utter  confusion  into  a  jiiece  of  woods,  on  the  right.  We  were 
then  ordered  to  fix  bayonets  and  advance,  which  was  promptly  done. 
Advancing  through  the  cornfield,  we  changed  front  to  the  right,  ****** 
and  had  advanced  over  the  larger  portion  of  the  ground,  when  we 
were  ordered  to  halt.  I  soon  discovered  that  Gen.  Sumner's  corps 
had  arrived,  and  were  fresh,  not  having  yet  been  in  the  action,  and  the 
work  of  dislodging  the  enemy  from  the  woods  *****  had  been  assigned 
to  them." 

Two  other  official  reports,  relating  to  the  battle,  seem  to 
recjtiire  attention.  One  of  these,  a.*;  might  easily  be  guessed, 
is  the  report  of  otir  own  brigade  commander,  whose  reports 
and  other  published  statements  concerning  the  battles  of  Win- 
chester and  Cedar  Mountain  have  been  noticed  heretol'ore. 
Gen.  Gordon  does  not  directly  assail  the  reputation  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  this  time,  suprising  to  relate.  But  his  studied 
omissions  and  misleading  generalities,  considering  the  facts, 
really  amount  to  a  more  serious  affront. 

During  the  progress  of  our  sustained  and  bloody  encounter 
in  fiont  of  the  cornfield,  we  saw  nothing  of  Gordon.  Where 
he  was  during  this  fiery  ordeal,  or  why  some  move  was  not 
ordered  by  him  that  might  easily  have  relieved  the  situation 
and  saved  many  valuable  lives  in  our  regiment,  and  that  of 
the  Third  Wisconsin,  has  never  been  explained.  .Vftcr  the 
crisis  was  passed,  however,  about  the  time  the  line  came  to  a 
halt  near  the  fence  bordering  the  pike,  he  dashed  up  to  our 
colonel  and,  with  his  customary  eflFusiveness  and  attention  to 
stage  effects,  took  off  his  cap  and  said,  in  the  hearing  of  all 
who  remained  of  the  regiment,  "  Colonel  Colgrove,  1  want  to 
congratulate  you  and  your  men.  '^'ou  have  covered  your- 
.(^elves  all  over  with  glory."' 

Yet,    in   his   official   report,  which   was  intended   first  for 


T\\  KATV-SEVENTII    INDIANA.  255 

the  infoimation  of  those  lii<^lier  in  authority,  and  was  then  to 
be  filed  away  and  constitute  a  record  for  all  time,  we  find 
nothin((  of  this  kind.  His  report  is,  as  usual,  much  the  longest 
and  most  verbose  of  any  biigade  commander  engaged  in  the 
battle,  on  either  side.  Through  four  closely  printed  octavo 
pages  in  the  Records  of  the  Rebell  on,  he  fairly  riots  in 
trope-  and  figures,  piles  adjectives  upon  each  other,  and  deals 
out  fulsome  compliments  right  and  left.  But.  lo  the  clash  of 
arms  in  front  of  the  cornfield,  which  for  duration  and  severity 
has  few  parallels  in  the  entire  history  of  the  war,  and  where 
the  causalties  in  his  brigade  were  four  times  as  great,  and  the 
injury  inflicted  by  the  infantry  of  his  brigade  upon  the  enemy 
ten  times  as  great,  as  during  all  the  balance  of  the  day,  he 
devotes  barely  one  high-sounding  but  deceptive  sentence. 
Here  it  is:  "Before  this  impetuous  charge  and  the  witiiering 
fire  of  our  line,  the  enemy  halted,  wavered,  fled  in  con- 
fusion, and  sought  shelter  in  the  woods  opposite,  from 
whence  he  had  emerged." 

How  long  did  the  enemy  '•  halt"'  and  "  waver"  before  he 
"fled  in  confusion .-'"'  What  did  he  do  while  he  was  thus 
"  halting "  and  "wavering?""  Did  he  happen  to  have  any 
deadly  weapons  along  with  him,  or  did  he  think  to  use  what 
he  had  along. ^  There  is  not  the  slightest  intimation  concern- 
ing any  of  these  points  in  this  tangle  of  words.  Would  any- 
one imagine  from  this  statement  that  there  was  a  most  des- 
perate and  destructive  encounter  involved  here,  in  which  two 
lines  of  battle  savagely  faced  each  other  for  from  one  to  two 
hours,  and  in  which  at  least  two  regiments  on  our  side  sus- 
tained a  per  cent  of  loss  ranking  well  up  to  any  that  was  sus- 
tained by  any  regiment  on  the  I'nion  side  during  the  war; 
while  at  least  one  regiment  on  the  other  side,  sustained  the 
highest  per  cent  of  loss  of  any  regiment  in  the  Confeder- 
ate army,  in  any  one  engagement?"'  On  the  contrary,  the 
unavoidable  meaning  of  his  statements,  as  for  as  they  can  be 
said  to  have  any  meaning,  is  that  there  was  a  spirited  dash, 
soon  over  and  attended  with  few  causalties. 

Moreover,  while  speaking  of  the  situation  at  this  point, 
Gordon  associates  the  First  Brigade  of  our  division  and  the 
Second  division  of  our  corps  so  closely  with  his  own  brigade 
that  whatever  of  credit  there  is,  is  thus  divided  ecpiallv  among 
them    all.      The    fact    was.    as    Col.    Colgro\e   plainly   states  : 


:?5G  nisTOKv   ok    iiie 

•'  The  only  force,  durinj^  this  time,  at  this  phice,  engaged  was 
the  three  old  regiments  of  your  (Gordon's)  brigade." 

True,  in  the  summing  up,  (ien.  Gordon  includes  the 
Twentv-seventh,  along  with  the  other  regiments  of  his  brigade, 
in  what  might  possibly  be  taken  as  a  compliment.  He  says  : 
"  I  cannot  too  highly  praise  the  conduct  of  my  brigade  of 
regiments,  old  and  new."'  He  also  names  the  Twenty-seventh 
among  the  old  regiments,  from  which  he  says  he  "  had  a  right 
to  expect  much,""  and  "  was  not  disappointed,'"  adding  con- 
cerning these  old  regiments,  "  Veterans  of  Winchester  and 
Cedar  Alountain.  they  can  add  to  their  laurels  the  battle  of 
Antietam  Creek.'" 

Another  otlicial  report  demanding  some  notice  is  that  of 
Colonel  (afterwards  General)  Knipe.  He  was  temporarily  in 
command  of  a  brigade  here,  and,  in  his  report,  alleges  that  the 
Twenty-seventh  Indiana  fired  into  the  rear  of  one  of  his  regi- 
ments. It  is  difficult,  under  all  the  circumstances,  to  account 
for  such  a  statement  on  any  theory  that  is  creditable  to  the  one 
making  it,  as,  indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  discuss  the  matter  in  a 
spirit  of  forbearance,  or  would  be,  this  case  alone  considered. 
But  this  is  the  same  Knipe  with  whom  we  had  such  agreeable 
relations  afterwards,  particularly  at  Peach  Tree  creek,  and  it 
seems  best  to  pass  this  break  of  his  by.  That  the  allegation, 
whatever  the  motive  or  information  upon  which  it  was 
founded,  could  not  be  true,  can  easily  be  established.  All 
official  reports  concur  in  placing  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana 
on  the  left  of  the  Third  Brigade,  where  we  know  it  was  ;  while 
the  First  Brigade  was  on  the  right  of  the  Third,  and  the  regi- 
ment named  as  having  been  fired  into  was  near  the  right  of 
the  First.  This  meant  an  interval  of  several  hundred  yards 
between  the  two  regiments.  The  adyance  of  the  line  as  thus 
formed  was  straight  to  the  front  until  the  enemy  was  encoun- 
tered, and  after  that  there  was  no  change  in  position  until  the 
battle  at  that  point  was  over.  Subsequent  to  that  the  Twenty- 
seventh  did  not  fire  a  musket,  ."^o.  such  an  occurrence  as  the 
one  named  was  simply  impossible. 

Col.  Fox  "•■■'  credits  the  Twenty-seventh  with  a  loss  at  Antietam  of 
41  killed  and  mortally  wounded  and  IHX  wounded,  not  mortally;  none 
missing.  The  writer  has  not  progressed  with  his  labors  on  the  roster  of 
the  regiment  far  enough  as  yet  to  be  ready  to  say  whether  or  not  his 
researches  will  yield  results  that  tally  exactly  with  Col.  Fox.  His  figures 
will  be  found  in  the  Roll  of  Honor  on  another  page. 

*Regiinental  Losses. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  I'.J  ( 

The  battle  of  Antietani  has  not  thus  far  received  the  pofjular  recog- 
nition that  it  would  seem  fairly  entitled  to.  Its  intensity  was  remarkable, 
if  not  unprecedented.  More  men  were  killed  and  wounded  here  in  one 
day  than  in  any  other  single  day  of  the  war.  It  has  the  distinction,  there- 
fore, of  being  the  bloodiest  day  since  the  invention  of  gunpowder,  with  the 
])ossible  exception  of  Waterloo.  The  battle  was  also  attended  with  great 
and  far-reaching  results,  far  greater  and  further  reaching  than  appear  to 
be  commonly  understood.  It  is  a  mistake  to  call  it  a  drawn  battle,  as  has 
often  been  done.     From  every  standpoint  it  was  a  Union  victory. 

In  its  immediate  issues,  Antietam  was  a  Union  victory— most  oppor- 
tune and  vital.  If  the  Union  army  had  lost  the  battle,  or  lost  the  prestige 
of  victory  here,  it  is  diffcult  to  see  how  anything  could  have  been  saved 
afterwards.  But  throughout  the  savage  contest,  notwithstanding  a  deter- 
mined and  bloody  resistance,  the  Union  army  steadily  beat  back  its  adver- 
sary'. At  the  close  of  the  battle  it  had  possession  of  substantially  all  the 
ground  fought  over,  and  of  all  the  killed  and  wounded  of  both  armies,  not 
previously  removed.  If  the  victory  was  not  overwhelming,  neither  was 
any  other,  won  by  either  side,  in  any  really  great  battle  of  the  war.  If 
both  contending  armies  remained  sullenly  facing  each  other  for  a  time 
after  hostilities  had  practically  ceased  and  then  one  withdrew,  almost 
unmolested,  that  was  also  true  at  other  places  which  have  never  been 
recognzied  as  drawn  battles,  notably  at  Chancellorsville  and  Gettysburg. 

When  the  Confederate  army  retreated  from  Antietam  it  did  so  as  a 
defeated  army.  It  had  not  only  been  sorely  punished,  fully  half  of  its 
effective  strength  being  killed  and  wounded,  including  a  due  proportion 
of  valuable  officers;  bnt  its  impetuous  advance  had  been  effectually 
checked  and  its  high  hopes  and  ambitions  had  been  withered  as  in  a 
simoon.  Even  more  than  this,  ic  had  been  forced  to  turn  its" back  and 
flee  away  from  the  same  army  it  had  been  defeating  in  a  series  of  previ- 
ous battles,  to  abandon  its  plans  for  holding  on  to  Maryland  and  of  mov- 
ing against  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia.  Above  all,  its  roseate  dreams  of 
taking  Washington.and  of  dictating  terms  of  peace,  had  been  rudely  trans- 
formed into  substantial  realities  of  cjui  e  the  opposite  character. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Union  army,  after  the  battle  of  Antietam,  was  a 
victorious  army.  It  not  only  had  the  outward  evidence  of  victory.  l)Ut  it 
also  had  the  inward  refreshing  and  inspiration  which  victories  bring  to 
soldiers,  and  which  always  mean  so  much.  These  results  of  victorv 
were  never  more  of  a  God-send  than  at  this  time.  If  there  was  some 
disappointment  that  greater  advantage  was  not  taken  of  the  victory,  it 
was  only  rendered  possible  by  the  evident  fact  and  the  universal  stimulus 
of  the  victory  itself.  That  so  much  had  been  accomiilished  was  the  sole 
ground  of  expectation  that  more  would  be  attempted,  if  not  the  sole  cause 
of  the  eagerness  to  attempt  more. 

In  its  more  remote  issues  the  battle  of  Antietam  was,  if  possible, 
more  opportune  and  vital  than  in  its  direct  issues.  At  this  point,  espe- 
cially, It  would  certainly  seem  that  the  facts  are  not  fully  known  or  appre- 
ciated. When  they  are  thus  known  and  appreciated,  this  battle  can 
scarcely  fail  to  take  its  place  along  side  ot  other  notable  battles  of  his 
tory,  which  have  changed  the  map  of  the  world,  or  greatly  benefited 
mankind. 

17 


:2oS  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  is  popularly  said  to  mark  the  high  tide  of 
the  rebellion.  The  statement  is  evidently  true,  in  a  sense,  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  rebellion  itself.  But  the  reverse  of  the  statement  is  not  true- 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  other  side.  In  other  words,  low  tide  on  the 
Union  side  was  not  reached  in  the  summ^-r  of  1868.  That  point  must 
have  been  reached,  on  that  side,  in  the  early  autumn  of  1862,  just  previ- 
ous to  the  battle  of  Antietam.  Do  intelligent  people,  as  a  rule,  compre- 
hend how  extremely  critical  and  desperate  the  situation  was  at  that  junc- 
ture? Certamly  at  no  other  did  the  facts  pertaining  to  the  conditions 
and  positions  of  the  armies,  the  revenues  and  functions  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  the  conduct  and  spirit  of  the  people,  as  well  as  other  impor- 
tant contingencies,  warrant  such  appalling  apprehensions.  So  many 
battles  had  been  fo.ight  and  lost,  so  many  campaigns  had  resulted  dis- 
•asterously.  There  had  been  so  much  jealousy,  bickering  and  want  of  co- 
operation among  those  in  high  places,  such  vast  sums  of  money  had  been 
spent  with  nothing  to  show  for  it,  the  credit  and  revenues  of  the  Govern- 
meet  were  so  inadequate  to  its  needs,  apathy,  greed,  place-hunting  and 
open  sympathy  for  secession,  were  so  wide-spread  in  the  states  supposed 
to  be  loyal;  above  all,  and  even  overshadowing  all.  the  recognition  of  the 
independance  of  the  so-called  Confederacy,  by  England  and  other  for- 
eign nations,  was  so  imminent,  that  the  destiny  of  the  Republic  trembled 
in  the  balance.  At  no  other  time  since  Washington's  bare-footed,  starv- 
mg  band  of  patriots  left  their  bloody  footprints  in  the  snows  of  \'alley 
Forge,  have  the  aspirations  of  humanity  for  self-government  been  so 
alarmingly  threatened  with  a  total  eclipse. 

The  men  who  did  most  of  the  lighting  at  Antietam  had  marched  there 
a  set  of  long-haired,  filthy,  lousey  tatterdemalions.  The  Twenty-seventh 
mav,  jjerhaps,  be  taken  as  a  fair  example  of  others,  in  these  respects. 
Our  plight  was  never  so  sorry  at  any  other  time.  There  never  was  so  much 
to  dishearten  and  demoralize  at  any  other  stage  of  our  service.  It  had 
been  so  long  since  fresh  supplies  of  clothing  and  shoes  had  been  availa- 
ble, our  marches  had  been  so  continuous  and  toilsome,  we  had  been 
exposed  so  much  to  all  kinds  of  weather,  day  and  night,  opportunities  to 
cleanse  our  persons  or  clothing  had  been  so  infrequent,  and  we  had  been 
reduced  to  such  extremes  of  destitution  in  many  ways,  that  we  were  really 
objects  of  commisseration,  if  not  loathsome  in  our  own  eyes.  Many  of 
the  regiment  were  entirely  shoeless,  while  the  shoes  of  those  best  pro- 
vided for  would  scarcely  hang  to  their  feet.  The  chief  comfort  of  the 
newest  shoes  among  us  was  that,  after  wading  streams  or  mud-iuiddles, 
as  wed  d  every  day,  the  water  necessarily  getting  in,  had  every  facility 
for  getting  out.  Pants  were  out  at  the  seat  and  knees  and  frayed  off  at 
the  bottoms  anywhere  from  the  ankles  upward.  Numbers  had  no  coats, 
and  the  coats  of  others  had  holes  in  the  elbows,  were  ripped  at  the  seams, 
deficient  as  to  tails,  soiled  antl  discoUred.  And,  under  the  conditions 
named,  it  goes  without  saying  that  all  the  clothing  of  all  the  men  was 
infested  with  vermin.  It  was  a  common  practiceat  this  time  to  turn 
whatever  garment  was  slept  in  wrong  side  out  every  night,  before  lying 
down,  to  give  temporary  relief  from  crawling,  scratching  and  biting 
graybacks,  until  the  dead  sleep  of  a  tired  soldier  could  supervene.  Three 
days  after  the  battle  of  Antietam  the  writer  stood  picket  in  the  village  of 


T\VENTV-SE\ENTH     INDIANA.  259 

Sandv  Hook,  Maryland.  In  that  public  place,  in  open  daylight,  he 
walked  his  beat,  first  without  a  shirt  and  then  without  pants,  while  the 
remnants  of  those  vermin-infested,  dirt-begrimmed  articles  were  boiling 
in  a  broken  kettle  found  in  the  streets.  All  the  other  members  of  a  large 
detail,  including  the  commissioned  officer  in  command,  did  likewise. 
There  was  a  spirited,  if  not  acrimonious  contention  as  to  who  should  have 
precedence  in  the  use  of  the  kettle.  The  possibility  of  missing  the 
opportunity  was  something  to  quarrel  over.  Filth  and  livestock  had 
become  unendurable.  It  may  be  thought  that  such  things  were  com- 
mon durmg  the  war,  l)Ut  not  on  such  a  large  scale  and  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  the  National  Capital  and  other  populous  Northern 
cities;  certainly  not  b:icause  of  the  sheer  inability  of  the  Government 
to  do  better  for  those  serving,  as  it  were,  under  its  own  direct  supervision. 
But  there  were  other  conditions  more  serious  and  far  more  portent- 
ous. During  the  previous  summer  and  fall  large  armies  had  responded 
to  the  call  of  the  President.  They  had  been  organized,  ecjuipped  and 
disciplined,  and  in  the  spring  had  moved  out  to  suppress  the  rebellion. 
For  a  time  they  had  seemed  to  be  uniformly  successful.  The  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  the  one  now  at  Antietam,  had  at  one  time  forged  its  way 
to  within  hearing  of  the  church  bells  of  Richmond,  the  city  which  it  was 
t-xpected  to  capture.  But,  after  consecrating  much  of  the  country  be- 
tween the  Chesapeake  and  the  rebel  stronghold  with  loyal  blood  and 
dotting  It  with  loyal  graves,  it  had  suffered  one  defeat  after  another  and 
been  scattered  and  disorganized,  through  incompetency  and  inward  dis- 
sensions, until — a  remnant  of  itself — it  was  north  of  the  Potomac,  and 
many  of  its  friends  seriously  doubted  whether  it  could  successfully  defend 
Washington.  Another  great  army,  which  had  swept  victoriously  through 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee  and  whose  flags  and  guidons  had  fluttered  in 
the  breezes  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  was  at  this  precise  date  running 
a  race  with  its  antagonist  for  the  Ohio  river.  In  alarm  and  consternation 
loyal  men  inquired  concerning  it:  "Can  it  successfully  defend  Louis- 
ville, Cincinnati  and  the  country  back  of  them?"  A  third  great  army, 
designed  for  the  opening  of  the  western  rivers,  had  won  the  most  sub- 
stantial victories  of  any  of  them,  with  important  help  from  a  sister  army 
on  at  least  one  occasion.  15ut  in  recent  months  it  had  been  so  broken 
into  detachments  by  well-meant  though  ill-advised  orders  from  Wash- 
ington, so  weakened  and  decimated  by  sickness,  and,  as  a  result  of  these, 
so  foiled  and  harrassed  by  the  enemy,  that  the  question  concerning  it 
was,  "What  has  become  of  it?"  In  short,  almost  everything  seemed  to 
be  going  wronj  with  the  Union  army.  Reports  of  defeats,  surrenders, 
retrogade  movements,  disasters  and  disappointments  of  various  kinds, 
followed  each  other  in  rapid  succession.  Soldiers  in  the  army,  as  well  as 
outside  of  it,  really  began  to  give  place  in  their  minds  to  the  shameful 
suspicion  that  maybe  , after  all.  Northern  soldiers  were  not  equal  to  South- 
ern soldiers  on  the  battlefield.  The  most  fatal,  as  well  as  the  most  dis- 
creditable thing  that  can  happen  to  men  under  arms,  namely,  a  distrust 
of  their  own  prowess,  and  an  overestimate  of  that  of  their  foes,  was  in 
the  actual  process  of  coming  about  with  many  wlio  wore  the  blue. 

Along  with  the  gloomy  aspect  in   the  military  situation,  and  largely 
as  a  result  of  it.  the  Government  was  in  sore  straits  in  other  respects. 


2(30  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Not  the  least  of  these  was  the  financial  problem.  Specie  payments  had 
been  discontinued  and  the  premium  on  specie  was  advancing  with  rapid 
strides.  United  States  bunds  brought  less  and  less  in  the  market  every 
day.  There  was  no  money  to  pay  the  army.  The  men  who  bore  the 
lirunt  of  the  battle  of  Antietam  had  marched  two  weeks  previously  through 
the  capital  of  the  nation,  under  the  shadow  of  its  stately  public  buiki- 
ings,  with  their  pay  in  arrears  from  four  to  eight  months.  At  Alexandria, 
when  Pope's  army  fell  back  from  Secontl  Bull  Run,  the  writer  first  saw 
a  piece  of  the  fractional  currency,  now  historic.  During  the  battte  of 
Antietam  there  was  not  a  five-cent  "  shin  plaster,"  as  they  were  derisively 
called,  among  a  thousand  men,  outside  of  a  few  officers.  Hundreds  of 
soldiers  died  at  Antietam  in  defense  of  the  very  weakened,  embarassed 
Government  that  was  not  able  to  pay  the  small  pittance  it  owed  them,  for 
their  previous  service  in  the  field. 

The  fact  that  enlistments  ha  I  been  at  a  standstdl  at  the  north  and 
that  there  was  a  rising  tide  of  hostility,  secret  plotting  and  open  opposi- 
tion with  reference  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  the  farther  fact  of 
the  impending  calamity  of  recognition  of  the  Confederacy  by  other  nations, 
need  not  be  discussed  at  length  in  this  connection.  Both  of  these  mat- 
ters, it  must  be  admitted,  continued  as  factors  in  the  problem  of  the 
Nation's  struggle  for  life,  as  did  the  other  matters  that  have  been  men- 
tioned, for  a  considerable  period  after  this.  Possibly  none  of  them  were 
finally  settled  until  everything  was  settled  at  Apiiomattox.  The  conten- 
tion here  is,  that  all  of  them  were  at  an  accute  stage  in  the  fall  of  1862. 
More  than  this:  no  one  of  them  really  reached  such  an  accute  stage  at 
any  other  period  as  at  this  i)eriod.  If  defeats  came  to  our  armies  further 
on  they  were  not  all  defeated  at  t' esanie  time.  If  our  national  authorities 
had  further  troubles  about  money  matters  they  were  never  again  reduced 
to  such  extremes  that  they  could  not  in  some  measure  meet  their  obliga- 
tions to  the  soldiers  at  the  front.  If  the  tire  in  the  rear  did  not  cease 
until  after  the  one  in  the  front  ceased  (long  after)  it  was  neither  so  great 
in  volume,  nor  so  aggressive,  as  it  was  now.  All  of  these  things  com- 
bined were  the  indications  and  the  cause  of  low  tide.  From  the  stand- 
point of  the  Union  side,  the  tide  never  was  as  low  at  any  other  time. 

The  battle  of  Antietam  marked  the  beginning  of  a  decided  change 
for  the  better.  Many  of  the  reasons  for  this  are  obvious  in  connection 
with  the  conditions  mentioned  as  preceeding  the  battle.  A  I'nion  victory 
could  not  fail  to  improve  all  of  those  conditions,  particularly  a  victory 
here.  The  armies  engaged  on  both  sides  here,  the  fact  that  those  armies 
were  both  largely  present  in  their  full,  effective  strength,  in  mostly  an 
open  country,  wholly  without  artificial  defenses,  the  sections  in  which  the 
two  had  been  principally  recruited,  the  fact  that  the  rebt'l  army  liere 
was  admitted  in  all  quarters  to  be  the  best  organized,  e(iui[)peil  and  com- 
manded of  any  in  the  held  or  that  side,  all  of  these  facts,  and  others, 
gave  force  to  the  influence  exerted  ])y  this  victory.  Xo  other  battle  of  the 
war  contributed  so  much  towards  the  final  settlement  of  the  ipiestion  of 
the  relative  fighting  (jualities  of  Northern  and  Southern  soldiers,  and  the 
kindred  one  of  the  ultimate  possibility  of  putting  the  lebellion  down  by 
force.  No  sane  man  could  doubt,  after  this,  that  the  men  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  Jersey,   New  York,  the  New   England  states  or   from  any 


T\VEXTY-SE\'ENTH     INDIANA.  201 

Xorihern  state,  were  eciuai,  man  for  man,  to  those  from  \irginia.  South 
Carolina  or  any  Southern  state.  This  carried  with  it  the  further  postulate 
that  the  right  kind  of  leadership,  able  to  combine  and  use  effectively  the 
superior  numbers  and  the  greater  resources,  of  the  loyal  states,  was  all 
that  was  needed  to  conquer  a  permanent  peace.  It  is  only  subsequent 
to  th,s  battle  that  the  proper  spirit  and  requisite  amount  of  energy  along 
these  lines  can  be  traced  in  many  (juarters. 

One  indirect  result  of  the  battle  of  Antietam  remains  to  be  mentioned- 
It  is  really  a  stupendous  one,  and  surely  has  been  overlooked  heretofore 
by  a  great  many  wise  and  thoughtful  people.  That  fact  is  that,  as  a 
result  ot  the  victory  here,  President  Lincoln  issued  his  immortal 
Emancipation  Proclamation! 

These  considerations  have  been  already  too  much  extended,  so  that 
this  phase  of  the  subject  need  not  be  enlarged  upon.  Each  link  in  the 
chain  of  incidents,  however,  is  a  thrilling  one.  The  proclamation  had 
been  decided  upon,  after  how  much  deep,  earnest  reflection  and  pro- 
longed, racking  anxiety,  the  world  will  never  know.  The  one,  only  con- 
<lition,  earnestlv  besought  on  his  knees  before  Alnu'ghty  God,  and 
expressly  stipulated  from  both  God  and  men,  was  a  victory  for  the  Union 
arms;  one  that  would  furnish  the  vantage  ground  to  give  the  i>roclamation 
force.  The  l)attle  of  .Antietam  occurred  on  the  17th  of  September  and  on 
the  '22d  of  the  same  month— tive  days  afterwards— the  preliminary  pro- 
clamation was  launched  into  history.  Who  can  believe  that  this  was  not 
the  real  turning  point  in  the  war?  This  enlisted  upon  one  side  the 
enlightened  and  humane  of  all  nations.  This  settled  the  fate  of  recogni- 
tion by  England.  It  awakened  sympathy  and  attracted  to  our  cause 
friends  in  that  country,  whose  labors  in  opposition  to  recognition  form  one  of 
the  most  glowing  pages  of  history.  The  writer  knows  of  nothing  stronger 
or  more  eloquent  in  forensic  literature  than  some  of  the  speeches  of  John 
Bright,  who  fought  recognition  most  heroically.  Before  it  was  proposed 
to  free  the  slaves  in  the  United  States,  his  lips  were  sealed.  But  when  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation  was  promulgated  he  threw  himself  into  the 
discussion,  heart  and  soul.  In  one  of  his  speeches  to  a  great  meeting  of 
laborers  in  Birmingham — out  of  work,  because  of  the  suspension  of  the 
cotton  industry — our  blockade  having  cut  off  the  supply  of  cotton — Mr. 
Bright  said:  "  My  countrymen,  who  work  for  your  living,  remember 
this:  There  will  be  one  wikl  shriek  of  freedom  which  will  startle  all 
mankind,  if  the  American  Republic  is  overthrown."  Further  along  he 
said:  "  The  leaders  of  this  revolt  propose  this  monsterous  thing:  They 
propose  that  over  a  territory  forty  times  as  large  as  England,  the  blight 
and  curse  of  African  slavery  shall  be  forever  perpetuated."  Farther 
along  still  he  used  the  following  burning  words,  containing  a  prophecy 
already  gloriously  tultilled:  "  As  for  me,  I  can  not  believe  in  such  a  fete 
befalling  that  fair  land,  stricken  as  she  now  is  with  the  ravages  of  war. 
I  can  not  believe  that  civilization  in  lu-r  journey  with  the  sun  will  sink  in- 
to endless  night  to  gratify  those 

•  Who  seek  to  \v;i<k'  lliioiiuli  slaii«liler  In  a  tlirone. 
Ami  sliut  the  Kiites  of  lueicy  on  luiiiikinil.' 

"  But  1  liave  a  far  other  and  far  l^righter  vision  before  my  gaze.  1  see 
one  vast  confederation  stretching,  in  unbroken  line,  from  the  frozen  north 


26:?  HISTOllV    OK    THE 

to  the  glowing  south  and  from  the  rough  liillows  of  the  Atlantic,  -west- 
ward to  the  calmer  waters  of  the  Pacific  main.  And  1  see  one  language, 
and  one  law, and  one  faith,  over  all  that  broad  land,  the  home  of  freedom 
and  the  refuge  for  the  oppressed  of  every  race  and  every  clime."  John 
Bright  and  his  sturdy  caloborers,  no  recognition,  emancipation,  Antie- 
taml  The  great  sacrifice  of  the  Twenty-seventh  and  so  many  others  was 
not  in  vain.  The  immense  risk  of  the  living  who  passed  through  (though 
not  unscathed)  that  veritable  hell  of  carnage  and  death  in  that  open 
cloverfield  and  in  other  localities,  was  worth  all  it  cost.  Victoryl  Present 
victory,  and  final  victoryl  I 

The  statement  will  probably  be  surprising  to  some,  but 
the  question  remains  yet  unsettled  as  to  what  Confederate 
troops  confronted  the  Twenty-seventh  and  the  other  regiments 
of  the  old  Third  Brigade  at  Antietam.  The  writer  has  labored 
assiduously  to  settle  the  question  in  his  own  mind,  witliout 
success.  The  disposition  with  most  is  to  conclude  that  they 
were  either  the  regiments  of  Colquit"s  brigade,  D.  H.  Hill's 
division,  or  those  of  Wofford's  brigade,  of  Hood's  di\  ision. 
though  there  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of  accepting  either  of 
these  conclusions. 

As  far  as  the  credit  of  the  men  of  our  brigade  is  con- 
cerned, it  cannot  matter  very  much  how  the  (juestion  is 
decideti,  if  it  ever  is.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the 
battle,  in  the  vicinity  of  where  we  were  engaged,  the  contest 
was  terrific,  and  few  regiments  on  either  side  escaped  without 
losing  at  least  half  of  their  men.  One  of  the  chief  difficulties 
in  making  out  the  order  in  which  particular  commands  on  the 
enemy's  side  were  brought  forward,  or  the  particular  scene  of 
their  operations,  is  that,  in  their  desperate  efforts  to  hold  their 
own,  they  seemed  to  hurl  men  into  the  light  withotit  much 
regard  to  what  brigade,  division  or  corps  thev  belonged  to; 
and  wherever  they  were  ordered  in,  or  whoever  they  con- 
fronted on  our  side,  they  were  roughly  handled.  Manv  offi- 
cers, as  well  as  men,  were  killed,  and  many  reports  are, 
therefore,  incomplete  or  not  on  record. 

For  these  reasons,  as  w'ell  as  the  fact  that  t  he  e\idence 
available  seemed  inconclusive  and  contradictory,  the  writer 
felt  obliged  to  abandon  the  hope  of  arriving  at  a  satisfactory 
solution  of  the  matter.  For  a  time  he  was  inclined  to  belie\e 
that  it  was  Wofford's  brigade,  or  a  part  of  it — the  First  Texa^. 
Hampton's  Legion,  the  Eighteenth  (Jeorgia,  and  another 
regiment  not  clearly  designated — that  was  of  interest  in  this 
connection.      Manv  survivors   of  the    Third    Bri<rade   will   re- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  263 

member  the  fact  stated  heretofore,  and  mentioned  in  the  report 
of  Colonel  Colgrove,  that,  when  we  arrived  at  the  point  on  the 
field  where  we  did  our  fighting,  four  regiments  of  the  enemy 
were  in  sight,  or  immediately  came  in  sight,  at  the  far  side  of 
the  corntield,  possibl}'  a  little  beyond  the  cornfield.  At  first 
they  were  out  of  range  and  massed  in  some  formation  or 
other.  But  they  at  once  moved  forward,  deploying  into  line 
as  they  came,  until  they  joined  battle  with  us.  The  move- 
ments of  these  regiments  and  the  positions  they  eventually 
occupied  are  very  distinctly  remembered  by  the  writer.  It 
would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  him  to  believe  that 
any  regiments  were  the  ones  in  front  of  us,  whose  movements 
or  relative  positions  were  stated,  or  admitted  to  be,  different 
from  what  we  saw  at  the  time. 

.  The  statements  of  two  regimental  commanders  in  Wof- 
ford's  brigade,  Colonel  ^\'ork.  of  the  First  Texas,  and  Colonel 
Ruff,  of  the  Eighteenth  Georgia,  in  their  official  reports, 
correspond  very  closely,  in  many  particulars,  to  what  the 
writer  and  so  many  others  witnessed.  Colonel  Work  is  the 
only  regimental  commander  on  that  side,  as  far  as  the  pub- 
lished reports  indicate,  who  mentions  any  such  a  movement 
by  his  regiment  on  this  part  of  the  field  as  the  writer  and 
many  others  remember  as  being  made  by  one  of  the  regiments 
in  C|uestion. 

As  narrated  heretofore,  three  of  the  four  rebel  regiments 
in  question,  in  their  advance  through  the  corntield,  towards 
our  position,  halted  before  reaching  the  fence,  bordering  tlie 
corntield  on  the  side  next  to  us.  These  three  regiments  did 
not,  at  anytime,  come  nearer  than  within  seventy-five  yards 
of  that  fence.  One  of  the  regiments,  however,  the  one  on 
their  right  (our  left),  making  a  slight  detour  and  following 
the  course  of  a  depression  in  the  surface  of  the  ground,  advanced 
up  to  the  fence  itself,  and  crouched  behind  it.  This  brought 
them  considerably  in  advance  of  the  balance  of  their  line. 
Colonel  Work,  of  the  First  Texas,  describes  just  such  a  move- 
ment as  this  by  liis  regiment.  Colonel  Ruff,  of  the  Eighteenth 
(xeorgia,  also  mentions  other  facts  whicii,  considered  by  them- 
selves, would  seem  to  make  it  certain  that  he  was  on  the  left 
(our  right)  of  the  rebel  line.  Among  other  facts  that  seem  to 
connect  his  experiences  with  ours,  he  mentions  some  that 
seem  to  refer  clearly  to  the  Second  Massachusetts.  If  it  was 
not  that  both  of  these  otVicers  make  other  statements   hard,  if 


'2{'A  HISTORY    OK    THE 

not  impossible,  to  reconcile  with  conditions  as  we  knew  them 
to  have  been,  there  could  be  little  doubt  of  their's  being  among- 
the  regiments  in  our  front. 

There  are  some  facts,  also,  which,  if  given  due  weight, 
appear  to  favor  the  belief  that  Colquit's  brigade  was  the  one 
of  interest  in  this  connection.  Comrade  Bresnahan,  among 
others,  favors  this  theory.  He  has  given  no  little  attention 
to  the  subject,  being  materially  aided  by  visits  to  the  battle- 
field, ill  recent  years.  His  conclusions  are,  therefore,  not  to 
be  light Iv  regarded.  The  chief  dif^culty  in  the  way  of  the 
writer's  acceptance  of  this  conclusion  is  found  in  the  positive 
statements  of  Colquit  himself,  in  his  official  report.  He  states 
definitel\'  that  all  of  his  regiments  advanced  through  the  corn- 
field, to  the  fence  on  its  opposite  side.  More  than  this,  he  says 
thevhad  passed  through  the  cornfield  and  formed  along  the  fence 
on  the  farther  side  (the  side  which  would  be  next  to  us),  before 
tJie  I'nioii  force  (with  which  they  then  had  a  a  severe  contest) 
raii/e  o/i  to  the  field.  Both  of  these  statements  represent  the 
facts  exactly  in   reverse  of  what  we   know  they  were  with  us. 

It  has  often  been  remarked  that  large  allowances  must  be 
made  for  the  statements  of  brigade  commanders,  in  their  offi- 
cial reports.  A  distinguished  student  and  author  of  war  liis- 
torv  has  said,  ''  Brigade  commanders  were  generally  along 
with  some  one  of  their  regiments,  or  back  somewhere  :  so  that 
they  really  saw  very  little  of  the  movements  of  their  brigade. 
After  the  battle,  they  went  on  and  related  the  erroneous  im- 
pressions that  they  had  gained  from  others,  arranging  things 
in  whatever  way  they  thought  might  be  most  to  their  own 
credit."  After  our  experience  with  Gordon,  the  men  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  can  certainly  appreciate  this  way  of  putting 
it.  But  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  General  Colquit  could  be  in 
error  as  to  two  such  material  facts.  No  reports  of  regimental 
commanders  in  Colquit's  brigade  are  on  record.  This  com- 
plicates the  matter  very  much  of  determining  anything  from 
the  reports  alone.  Three  out  of  five  of  Colquit's  regimental 
commanders  were  killed,  and  the  other  two  were  seriously 
wounded,  in  the  battle.  If  any  reports  were  made  by  who- 
ever succeeded  to  the  command,  they  are  not  on  file.  This 
brigade  consisted  of  the  Thirteenth  Alabama,  and  Sixth, 
Twenty-Third,  Twenty-seventh  and  Twenty-eighth  Georgia.* 


*  Rebellion  Records,  Series  1,  ^^)l.  XIX,  Part  One 


CHAPTER  XX. 


MARYLAND  IIKiHTS. 

Our  last  night  on  the  field  of  Antietam  was  spent  along 
the  west  side  of  the  pike,  south  of  D.  R.  Miller's  barn.  From 
there  we  marched,  on  the  mornino;  of  the  19th.  Angling 
across  the  pike,  we  entered  the  novv  historic  cornfield,  thence 
choosing  a  course  about  midway  between  the  Dunker  church 
and  the  east  woods,  we  kept  about  that  distance  from  the 
pike  until  near  Sharpsburg.  From  the  village  we  wound  our 
way  over  the  hills  to  the  crossing  of  the  Antietam,  now  for- 
ever to  be  known  as  ••Burnside's  Bridge.'" 

We  had  thus  traversed  the  ground  where  most  of  the 
bloodiest  fighting  had  been  done.  All  the  wounded  had,  of 
course,  been  removed,  and  the  Union  dead  had  been  buried. 
But  the  rebel  dead,  not  carried  away  by  friends,  still  lay 
where  they  had  fallen.  What  a  revelation  of  human  nature, 
and  what  a  chapter  in  human  history,  the  sights  of  that  morn- 
ing aftbrded  !  Alas  I  that  such  a  dreadful  tiling  as  war  should 
be  necessary  among  men  I 

Xo  one  who  passed  over  this  battlefield,  to  any  extent, 
needs  anv  other  evidence  to  con\ince  him  that  Gen.  Lee  did 
not  scruple  himself  to  do  what  he  urged  should  be  the  policy 
and  rule  of  all  rebel  officers,  which  was  tliat  their  losses  in 
battle  should  be  systematically  minimized  and  falsified.  He 
repotred  his  loss  in  killed  in  this  battle,  and  in  all  the  other 
battles  and  skirmishes  connected  with  the  in\asion  of  Mary- 
land, at  less  than  seventeen  hundred.  Xo  member  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  will  ever  belie\e  that  we  did  not  see  more 
than  that  numljcr  of  misguided  unfortunates  lying  stone  dead, 
and  deserted  bv  all  save  their  foes,  on  that  line  of  march  alone, 
while  the  battletield  began  nearly  a  mile  above  where  we 
started,  and  extended  an  average  of  a  half  a  mile  on  either 
^ide  of  the  route  we  traveled.  From  I).  R.  Miller's  to  near 
Siiarpsburg   the   ground,  in   most   places,   lay   about    as   thick 


266  msroKv   OF   the 

with  dead  bodies  as  sheaves  do  in  a  harvest-Held  before  they 
are  gathered  and  shocked.  In  many  phices  it  would  be  but 
slight  exaggeration  to  sav  they  laid  in  heaps  and  windrows. 

Before  starting  on  the  march  we  had  seen  the  shocking 
evidences  of  slaughter  along  the  stout  post-and-rail  fence  bor- 
dering the  pike,  above  the  Dunker  church.  It  had  the  appear- 
ance of  a  strong  line  of  men  having  taken  position  there  and 
being  killed  to  a  man.  This  was  not  the  case,  but  several 
lines  had  been  there,  each  losing  some,  until  there  was 
scarcely  room  for  another  body  to  lie  on  the  ground.  Per- 
haps along  the  two  or  more  lanes  extending  eastward  from 
the  pike,  particularly  along  the  one  since  known  as  "  Bloody 
Lane,"  the  fatality  had  been  greater  than  elsewhere.  There 
is  a  very  realistic  picture  extant  of  Bloody  Lane  as  it  was  at 
the  close  of  the  battle.  It  may  Ije  a  photograph,  taken  at  the 
time.  The  ground  is  literally  covered  with  dead  everywhere, 
and  in  many  places  thev  are  lying  upon  and  across  each  other. 
The  scene  is  as  we  remember  it.  We  saw  also  one  dead  rebel 
hanging  across  a  fence,  and  one  hanging  in  the  forks  of  a 
tree.  The  one  had  been  shot  while  in  the  act  of  climbing  the 
fence,  and  the  other  while  perched  in  the  tree  as  a  sharpshooter. 

I'hose  who  had  been  killed  dead  while  the  battle  was  in 
progress  were  now  swollen  and  blackened  beyond  all  recogni- 
tion. It  required  stout  nerves  to  be  able  to  look  at  them.  But 
quite  a  large  proportion  had  probably  lived  for  a  time  after 
being  shot,  some  of  them  until  a  period  now^  somewhat  recent, 
Some  faces  had  the  freshness,  and  even  the  peacefulness,  of 
sleep. 

The  writer  has  never  forgotten,  and  never  can  forget ,^ 
one  such  face,  into  which  he  looked  long  and  thoughtfully.  It 
was  that  of  a  mere  bov,  not  over  sixteen  or  seventeen  years 
old.  He  had  light  hair  and  blue  eyes,  with  high  forehead  and 
refined,  classical  features.  The  purest  strain  of  our  Anglo- 
.Saxon  blood  was  in  his  veins  and  with  it  were  lofty  ambitions 
and  a  dauntless  courage.  Needless  was  it  for  the  wound,  which 
had  been  mortal,  to  testify  that  it  had  been  received  while  his 
face  was  to  the  front.  Ilis  uniform  was  of  tine  English  broad- 
cloth, and  other  things  about  him  suggested  that  some  South- 
ern home  of  wealth,  culture  and  refinement  had  been  robbed 
of  its  idol,  and  that  some  proud,  aristocratic  mother  had  paid 
the  extreme  penalty  of  disloyal  and  sinful  instruction  about 
slaverv  and  secession. 


rwEXTV-sEVEN'rn   Indiana.  207 

Our  destination  to-day  was  the  vicinity  of  Harpers  Ferry. 
We  iroved  rapidly  down  Pleasant  Valley  and  at  the  first  gap 
north  of  the  Potomac  river,  turned  and  climbed  to  the  top  of 
the  Blue  Ridge.  From  there  we  followed  the  backbone  of  the 
ridge  to  where  it  is  cut  in  two  by  the  river.  This  elevated 
point  is  known  as  Maryland  Hights.  It  overlooks  Harpers 
Ferry  and  all  the  surrounding  region,  being  one  of  the  highest 
peaks  of  the  Appalachian  range.  An  artist  might  fill  a  note 
book  by  a  visit  to  this  interesting  place. 

While  advancing  along  the  crest  of  the  mountain  the 
Twenty-seventh,  being  in  the  lead,  had  skirmishers  in  front. 
We  were  the  first  Union  troops  to  reach  Maryland  Hights 
after  its  stupid  abandonment  by  those  who,  a  day  or  two  later, 
disgracefully  surrendered  at  Harpers  Ferry.  There  iiad  been 
some  lighting  on  the  mountain  before  its  evacuation.  We 
found  the  rebel  dead  still  unburied.  The  strip  of  level  land  on 
the  top  of  the  mountain  is  so  narrow  that  a  small  force  could 
defend  it  aga  nst  any  number  of  men  that  might  assail  it.  In 
many  places  not  more  than  fifty  men  could  stand  abreast  in 
line.  There  was  no  sign  of  live  enemies,  however.  The  sun 
shone  benignantlv  and  the  signal  service  men  came  and  waved 
their  flags  in  the  clear  air,  announcing  that  the  stars  and 
stripes  again  floated  over  the  whole  of  Maryland.  Towards 
evening  we  descended  the  mountain  part  way,  on  the  eastern 
or  Pleasant  \'alley  side,  to  find  enough  level  ground  for  a 
camp. 

For  a  dav  or  two  it  fell  to  a  part  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
to  picket  the  river  opposite  Harpers  Ferry.  It  was  while  en- 
gaged in  this  duty  that  the  immense  sacrifice  of  life  occurred, 
before  mentioned, — the  boiling  of  clothes,  with  their  living 
occupants,  in  the  broken  kettle. 

The  camp  of  the  Twenty-seventh  was  soon  transferred  to 
the  western  slope  of  the  mountain,  where  it  was  established 
in  a  more  permanent  form.  For  this  purpose  we  occupied  the 
last  cleared  land,  and  the  last  level  enough  for  a  camp,  high 
up  the  western  ascent,  but  near  tiie  river. 

Somehow  our  great  loss  at  Antietam  diil  not  come  over 
us  fully,  until  we  came  to  pitch  tents  in  regular  order  at  this 
place.  For  this  purpose  the  whole  regiment  was  formed, 
temporarily  as  it  proved,  into  four  small  companies.  The 
gaps  in  our  ranks  were  desperate.  Companies  A,  C.  D.  F 
and  H  had  no  commissioned  ollicers  present  for  duty.      In  sev- 


2G8  HISTORY    OF    THE 

eral  companies  only  two  or  tliiee  non-commissioned  officers 
were  present.  A  long  list — really  a  shocking,  heart-rending  list 
— of  our  manliest  and  most  companionable  comrades,  some  of 
them  our  greatest  favorites,  both  of  officers  and  men,  were 
gone  from  us.  For  many  days,  soldiers  though  we  were,  we 
were  almost  inconsolable. 

Our  quartermastser  sergeant  notes  in  his  diary  that  the 
regiment  was  in  the  worst  plight  at  this  time  for  clothing 
and  shoes  of  any  in  its  history.  This  confirms  what  has 
already  been  said  about  our  condition  previous  to  the  battle  of 
Antietam.  Ours  was  but  a  fair  sample  of  others.  The  Con- 
federates were  commonlv  a  hard  looking  lot  with  respect  to 
clothing,  but  we  would  have  driven  great  b  irgains  by  even 
exchanges  with  them  at  this  period.  After  a  few  days  fresh 
supplies  began  to  arrive  and,  though  they  came  ver^'  slowly  and 
in  small  quantities,  we  were  eventually  put  in  good  condition 
again. 

A  large  detail  from  our  brigade,  in  command  of  Lieut. - 
Col.  Morrison,  was  assigned  the  work  of  chopping  the  timber 
off  of  the  west  side  of  the  mountain.  This  was  done  with  a 
view  of  making  it  more  defensible.  In  the  Twenty-seventh 
the  same  men  were  sent  from  dav  to  day.  It  was  the  writer's 
good  fortune  to  be  one  of  this  detail.  It  was  most  agreeable, 
cheerful  work,  a  delightful  change  from  the  tedious  round  of 
camp  life. 

A  line  of  axmen  was  formed  at  the  first  timber  line  above 
the  camp  and  worked  steadily  upward,  felling  the  trees  down- 
ward. Most  of  the  timber  was  chestnut,  or  chestnut  oak, 
and,  with  a  sharp  axe,  chopped  beautifully.  The  work  went 
on  without  interruption  until  ihe  summit  was  reached.  Later 
a  detail  was  made  to  set  fire  to  this  fallen  timber.  It  was 
hoped  that  when  the  leaves  had  dried,  the  whole  of  it  would 
burn.  This  proved  a  mistake.  The  men  had  a  free,  romantic 
play-spell  one  evening,  in  illuminating  the  mountain  side,  but 
after  the  leaves  and  twigs  were  consumed  the  blackened 
trunks  and  limbs  mostly  remained. 

The  ranks  of  the  regiment  grailually  Hlled  up  while  we 
were  at  Maryland  Heights.  Those  who  had  been  away  sick 
or  wounded,  or  on  details  of  various  kinds,  returned.  Those 
who  had  been  captured  at  Winchester  also  reached  us  here, 
after  their  long  sojourn  inside  the  inhuman  Confederacy.  The 
boys   in   camp  cheered   lustiK",  and   with    full   hearts,  at   sight 


T\VENTV-SE\KN'I'ir     INDIANA. 


•2m 


of  them.  Their  identit}'  was  revealed  in  advance,  as  they 
approached,  by  the  presence  among  them  of  our  big  soldier, 
then  a  lietenant,  Van  Biiskirk.  Captain  Davis  and  Dr.  Wool- 
len were  also  of  the  number.  The  latter  had  unselfishly  sur- 
rendered himself,  or  remained  dutifully  at  his  post,  to  be  cap- 
tured, with  the  sick  and  wounded  in  his  care,  at  Culpeper 
Court  House.  Lieut.  \'an  Buskirk  was  always  a  favorite  in 
the  regiment,  as  indeed  were  also  Captain  Davis,  Dr.  Wool- 
len and  most  others  of  these  returning  captives,  regardless  of 
rank. 


Cai't.  Joseph  Baeslev, 
Company  H. 


Capt.  J.  M.  Hake  RLE, 
Company  K. 


As  offsetting  these  gains  in  part,  the  Twenty-seventh  also 
suffered  a  small  loss  at  this  time.  An  order  was  issued  by  the 
War  Department  permitting  men  in  the  Volunteer  service  to 
be  transferred  to  the  Regular  service,  if  they  desired  it,  for  the 
unexpired  periods  of  their  enlistment.  It  was  done  mostly  as 
a  favor  to  the  officers  in  the  Regulars.  By  filling  up  their 
commands  they  would  be  entitled  to  additional  promotion. 
On  the  protest  of  the  \'olunteer  officers,  the  order'  was  soon 
countermanded,  Init  not  before  the  Twenty-seventh  had  lost 
a  few  good  men,  as  well  as  some  who,  perhaps,  were  a  good 
riddance.    Most  of  them  left  us  because  they  preferred  another 


270  HISTORY    OF    THE 

arm  of  the  service.  Of  all  who  went,  on!}-  one  or  two  chose 
infantrv.  and  they  transferred  for  other  special  reasons. 

Loyalty  to  the  Twenty-seventh,  whose  record  was  now 
established,  alone  restrained  the  writer  from  transferring  to 
the  artillery.  Even  a  slight  experience  in  the  army,  he  has 
always  held  tirinly.  will  convince  any  one  that  the  artillery 
is  by  far  the  preferabl  arm  of  the  service,  particularly  for  an 
enlisted  man.  The  artiller}  man  does  not  march  anything  like 
as  much  as  others,  carries  no  1  jad  when  he  is  required  to 
march,  does  little  guard  duty,  and  no  picket  duty,  is  allowed 
liberal  bedding,  has  more  freedom  in  his  individual  conduct, 
reaps  a  larger  harvest  of  glory,  and,  as  statistics  show,  stands 
less  average  risk  of  getting  hurt.  Still,  the  writer  will  con- 
congratulate  himself  and  his  posterity  to  the  latest  genera- 
tion, that  he  remained  with  the  peerless  men  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh. 

While  we  were  on  the  slopes  of  Mary'and  Heights  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  made  a  visit  to  the  army.  No  reviews  were 
held,  as  was  the  case  later,  but  the  President  rode  around 
among  the  camps  extensively.  He  was  brought  up  to  the 
camp  of  our  brigade,  though,  while  the  Twenty-seventh  had 
orders  to  form  in  line  and  be  ready  to  receive  him,  he  was 
not  brought  to  our  camp.  We  were  permitted  only  to  see  the 
company  of  horsemen  at  a  distance. 

Our  camp  was  a  little  off  of  the  main  road,  it  is  true,  but 
we  have  always  believed  that  an  intentional  slight  was  put 
upon  us  by  our  brigade  commander  or  some  of  his  staflF.  The 
President  had  come  to  the  army  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of 
high  officers,  that  the  sight  of  him  might  encourage  and 
enspirit  the  men,  but  the  Twenty-seventh  might  serve  without 
such  help.  It  had  stood  like  a  wall  of  adamant  in  the  recent 
battle,  while  more  than  half  of  its  number  present  had  gone 
down  before  the  rain  of  lead  and  iron  of  its  adversaries.  It 
needed  a  little  snubbing — at  least  so  thought  (iordon  and  his 
crowd. 

We  were  likewise  disappointed  in  not  receiving  a  call 
from  our  own  Governor,  Morton,  who  also  visited  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  after  the  battle  of  Antietam.  There  was  no 
juggerly  about  this,  however.  The  (Governor  found  his  time 
cut  short  by  unforeseen  exigencies  and  sent  his  Adjutant-Gen- 
eral to  the  Twenty-seventh  in  his  stead,  to  bear  to  the  officers 
and   men    his   cordial   salutations   and    heart-felt  regrets.     As 


TWKNTV-SEN'ENTH     INDIANA.  1^71 

the  shadow  of  Peter,  in  Apostolic  times,  falling  upon  the  sick 
and  crippled,  proved  a  help  and  blessing  to  them,  so  the 
thoughts  and  words  of  Indiana's  war  Governor,  even  at  second 
hand,  caused  the  burdens  to  rest  lighter  upon  her  soldiers  in 
the  field. 

We  also  had  other  visitors  from  Intliana  while  here,  in 
the  person  of  officers'  wives  and  the  relatives  and  friends  of 
dilTerent  members  of  the  regiment.  Some  had  come  on  sad 
missions,  connected  witli  tlie  killed  and  wounded  in  the  late 
battle.  Some  had  taken  advantage  of  our  temporary  inactivitv 
and  proximity  to  railroads  to  have  a  brief  visit  with  those  near 
and  dear. 

It  was  cheering  to  all,  even  to  utter  strangers,  to  have 
visitors  come  from  the  blessed  Hoosier  state.  It  was  a  verit- 
able Godsend  to  a  whole  regiment,  at  any  time,  to  see  a 
refined,  loyal  lady  in  camp.  In  the  next  war,  when  men  have 
to  be  so  long  away  from  friends  and  the  associations  of  home, 
ladies  who  visit  the  camps  must  not  be  quite  so  retiring  and 
exclusive.  A  little  passing  around  among  the  men,  a  friendlv 
nod  or  cheerful  greeting,  even  to  a  strange  soldier-boy,  cannot 
harm  a  lady  and  may  do  the  sore-hearted  bo}'  a  world  of  good. 
This  will  still  be  true  even  though  the  soldier-boy  should  not 
appear  to  be  any  too  neat  in  liis  personal  habits  or  should  seem 
to  have  forgotten  or  laid  aside  some  of  the  gentilitv  taught 
him  by  his  far-away,  faithful  mother. 

The  Twenty  seventh  again  exchanged  arms  while  in  this 
camp.  All  the  companies  received  the  same  kind,  namely, 
Springfield  rifles.  These  were  the  first  and  only  guns  we 
ever  had  of  Amerrcan  make.  We  carried  them,  many  of  us 
the  identical  ones  received  here,  to  the  end  of  our  service. 
They  had  the  merit  of  being  light,  shapely  and  well  balanced 
for  handling;  a  good  gun — for  a  time  of  peace.  Uniformly 
hard,  close  shooters,  thev  were  not. 

Meanwhile,  September  had  given  place  to  October,  and 
it  in  turn,  was  almost  gone.  The  mellow,  golden  haze  that 
had  rested  over  field,  forest  and  stream  and  had  iir.parted  a 
dreamy,  fairyland  halo  to  the  wide,  enchanting  landscape, 
always  visible  from  our  camp,  was  giving  place  more  and 
more  to  the  cheerless,  leaden  gray.  The  winds,  which  at  the 
first  were  fresh  and  bracing,  were  becoming  cutting  and  hard 
to  bear.  After  a  much  longer  delay  than  anv  one  had  antici- 
pated, those  of  us  engageil  on  the  mountain  saw  the  Ion*-  linos 


'Ji'J  IIISTOKV    OF    THE 

of  infantry,  artillery  and  wagons  winding  from  different 
points  down  to  the  pontoon  bridge  at  Berlin,  four  miles  below 
Harpers  Ferry,  thence  disappearing  from  \ie\v  in  tlie  detiles 
on  the  Virginia  side.  Most  of  the  army  had  again  invaded 
the  Old  Dominion.  What  purpose  or  thought  it  was  which 
delayed  our  corps,  and  hnallv  sent  us  in  tlie  opposite  direction, 
to  remain  for.  a  time,  belongs  to  the  things  not  yet  revealed. 


FlUST-LlEUT.    W.    W.   DORGHERTV. 

(Regimental  Adjutant.) 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


DAM    NUMBER    FOl'R    AND    FAIRFAX     STATIOX. 

October  29th,  at  seven  p.  m.,  we  left  our  lofty  camp  on 
the  side  of  Maryland  Hights.  Contrary  to  all  previous  expec- 
tations our  course  lay  up  the  river,  instead  of  down  or  across 
it.  Why,  after  so  many  weeks  of  delay,  we  should  now  start 
in  the  evening  and  march  all  night,  is  one  of  the  mysteries 
that  must  forever  shroud  the  plans,  or  lack  of  them,  of  those 
days.  It  could  not  have  been  because  haste  was  necessary, 
and  if  secrecy  was  intended  it  lacked  a  great  deal  of  being 
secured.  Most  of  the  way,  the  road  we  travelled  follows  the 
Potomac  river,  and  upon  the  opposite  side  were  the  enemy's 
scouts.  We  never  marched  with  more  hubbub,  and  much 
of  the  route  was  ablaze  with  bright  fires. 

Some  of  the  men  in  the  newer  regiments  had  not  yet 
learned  that,  if,  when  they  found  themselves  getting  tired, 
sleepy  or  foot-sore,  they  stopped,  built  a  rousing  fire  and  took 
things  easy,  anybody  would  be  unfeeling  enough  to  find  fault 
about  it.  They  learned  it  with  a  vengance  that  night.  Poor 
Gordon  !  this  was  the  last  time  we  ever  marched  under  his 
command,  and  it  mollifies  us  not  a  little  to  recall  that  he 
really  became  patronizing  towards  us,  while  heaping  his 
anathamas  upon  these  simple,  unsuspecting  stragglers  from  tiie 
new  regiments.  How  he  spurred  his  horse  in  among  and 
upon  them,  as  they  sat,  or  laid,  around  their  comfortable  fires, 
how  inconsiderate  and  even  rude  he  was,  as  he  awakened  them 
out  of  their  restful  sleep,  and  what  a  night  he  had  of  it  in  all 
respects,  and  what  a  night  he  made  of  it  for  them,  as  he 
hustled  them  around  and  drove  them  along,  were  matters  of 
amusement  to  us  for  a  long  time. 

We  reached  the  mouth    of   the   Antietam   near   morning. 

Resting  there  for  awhile,  it  developed   that  we  were  destined, 

for  an   indefinite  period,  to  guard   the    upper   Potomac.      Our 

brigade  line  was  to  extend  from  above  Williamsport  to  a  point 
18 


274 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


below  Sharpsburg.  The  headquarters  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
were  to  beat  Dam  Number  Four,  but  some  of  the  companies 
were  to  be  stationed  at  other  points.  All  went  to  their  posts 
during  the  day. 

Dam  Number  Four  was  oneof  the  feedersof  the  canal, which 
follows  the  river  on  the  Maryland  side,  and  it  was  important 
that  it  should  not  be  molested.  If  we  relieved  other  troops  we 
did  not  see  them.  The  Twelfth  Indiana  infantry  had  occu- 
pied the  same  ground  for  a  camp  the  previous  winter  that  we 
occupied   now.      There  were  no  signs  of  its  recent  occupancv. 


Cait.  J.  C.  Williams,  Co,  C.       Lihut.  R.  S.  Loi  gii?:rv,  Co.  C. 


When  we  arrived  at  Dam  Number  Four  a  rebel  picket 
post  was  maintained  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  We 
often  saw  their  relief  as  it  passed  around  and  the  picket  was 
sometimes  in  sight  also.  It  was  soon  learned  by  our  authorities 
that  the  rebel  force  consisted  of  a  single  company  of  cavalry. 
There  were  many  loyal  people  in  that  part  of  Virginia  and 
the  information  coming  through  them  was  reliable.  After 
a  few  days,  therefore,  it  was  decided  to  send  a  force  over 
at  night  with  a  view  of  capturing  the  rebel  company.   Wisely 


TWENTY- SEVENTH     INDIANA.  2(0 

managed  and  witli  no  mishap,  the  sclieme  looked  feasible, 
and  was  worthy  of  a  trial. 

One  record  says  "  one  hundred  picked  men"  were  detailed 
for  this  expedition  ;  another,  that  Companies  C,  E,  G  and  K 
went.  Neither  record  states  whether  the  men  were  selected 
because  of  their  good  qualities,  or  because,  if  lost,  they  would 
not  be  greatly  missed.  But,  whether  for  one  reason  or  the 
other,  the  writer  was  of  the  number. 

Tw^o  mistakes  were  made  before  starting.  For  one  thing, 
the  men  should  have  been  given  the  briefest  outline  as  to  the 
situation.  Ordinarily,  of  course,  it  is  absurd  for  soldiers  to 
expect  explanations  concerning  what  they  are  ordered  to  do. 
Any  soldier,  worthy  of  the  name,  knows  that  it  is  his  business 
to  obey,  and  ask  no  questions.  This  case,  however,  was  almost 
of  the  nature  of  a  special  service.  A  mere  handful  of  men 
were  to  cross  a  wide  river,  strange  to  them,  operate  inside  of 
the  enemy's  lines,  where  he  was  supposed  to  be  in  large  num- 
bers, and  in  a  region  with  which  they  were  not  acquainted, — 
all  of  this  in  the  dark.  A  very  few  words  would  have  relieved 
them  of  some  harrassmg  misgivings.  What  was  known  as  to 
the  number  of  the  enemy,  a  hint  as  to  the  plans  for  their  cap- 
ture, the  facts  as  to  the  fords  or  shallow  places  in  the  river, 
with  suggestions  as  to  what  was  to  be  done  in  case  of  unfor- 
seen  exingencies,  would  not  have  been  improper,  but  helpful. 
These  points  all  came  out  afterwards,  and  the  men  saw  how- 
groundless    had   been    some   of   their — well,    uneasiness. 

For  another  thing,  the  start  from  camp  should  not  have 
been  made  until  conditions  were  ripe  for  crossing  the  river 
promptly,  on  arrival  at  the  proper  place.  As  it  was,  the 
expedition  started  soon  after  dark,  marched  some  distance 
below,  where  the  boats  were  in  readiness,  then  waited  two 
hours,  or  more,  for  the  moon  to  rise,  as  it  was  said.  Of  course 
there  was  not  sufficient  room  for  100  men  in  the  small  store,  or 
canal-supply  house,  at  that  point.  Equally,  of  course,  it  was 
not  reasonable  that  because  all  could  not  go  in  and  enjov  the 
fire,  a  few  persons,  especially  the  commissioned  officers,  might 
not  do  so.  But  staple  groceries  and  provisions,  ropes,  oakum, 
rosin  and  horse  feed, — such  legitimate  articles  as  canal  boat- 
men are  supposed  to  need — were  not  the  sum-total  of  the 
merchandise  kept  in  that  house.  Some  of  us  had  been  there 
before!      Do  you  see.^ 

No  matter  what  men  do  themselves,  or  are  willing  others 


276  HISTORY    OF    THE 

should  do,  under  some  circumstances,  when  they  go  into  a 
close  place,  where  life  or  liberty  are  at  stake,  they  demand 
leaders  with  unmuddled  brains.  The  mere  fact  that  there  is 
a  known  possibility  of  their  brains  being  muddled  has  a  bad 
influence.  During  this  long,  tedious  delay,  various  mis- 
chievous and  tormenting  rumors  or  suspicions,  of  other  kinds, 
became  current  among  us.  What  if  there  was  a  mistake  about 
the  number  of  the  enemy .?  What  if  more  should  chance  to 
arrive  subsequent  to  our  latest  information.''  What  if  our 
commander  should  be  misinformed  or  misled  in  other  direc- 
tions? Or,  what  was  more  plausible,  as  well  as  more  dread- 
ful, what  if  some  one  on  this  side  of  the  river,  seeing  so  many 
men  under  arms  and  the  boats  moored  to  the  shore,  should 
surmise  our  destination,  and,  by  some  preconcerted  signal, 
should  warn  those  on  the  other  side.^  We  were  lying  along 
the  canal,  with  no  pretense  of  concealment.  Canal-boats  were 
passing  every  few  minutes.  On  them,  and  straggling  along 
after  them,  were  many  men  and  boys  whose  sympathies  were 
unknown  to  us.  That  some  of  them  might  be  rebel  scouts,  on 
the  look  out  for  just  such  matters,  was  not  a  violent  presump- 
tion. Under  such  conditions,  what  a  death-trap  could  be  set 
for  us?  All  these  things  would  have  been  out  of  the  question,, 
with  a  later  start  from  camp. 

At  length,  however,  we  were  ferried  over,  or  rather,  fer- 
ried ourselves  over,  a  few  at  a  time,  to  the  opposite  shore. 
The  men  to  man  the  boats  were  furnished  from  our  own  num- 
ber. All  proper  precautions  were  taken  to  have  the  work 
done  as  silently  as  possible.  Here  as  elsewhere,  Col.  Col- 
grove  set  an  example  of  unflinching  courage.  He  went  over 
in  one  of  the  first  boats,  if  not  the  very  first,  to  cross. 

With  a  few  men  slightly  in  advance,  in  charge  of  officers 
and  guided  by  a  loyal  citizen,  we  moved  briskly  but  with  the 
utmost  watchfulness.  Part  of  the  way  was  through  the  woods. 
In  the  open  fields  we  carried  our  guns  at  a  trail  arms  to  prevent 
the  glinting  of  the  bright  barrels  in  the  moonlight.  All  went 
well  until  we  were  almost  ready  to  flush  the  quarry.  The 
rebel  company  was  quartered  in  a  barn,  a  short  distance  back 
from  the  river.  We  were  approaching  it  from  the  rear.  In 
a  moment  more  we  would  have  been  in  position  to  cut  otV  all 
escape.  But  near  the  barn  was  a  high  rail  fence.  As  we 
were  climbing  over  this,  one  of  our  men  accidentally  dis- 
charged his   gun.     Instantly    we   heard   the  faint  notes    of  a 


TWEXTV-SEVEXTH     IXDIANA.  l' ,  , 

bugle  and,  almost  immediately,  the  rebels  cralloped,  with  the 
speed  of  the  wind,  around  our  left  flank.  It  w^is  truly  mar- 
velous how  quickly  they  responded  to  "  Boots  and  Saddles,"' 
and  were  away.  Hurrying  on,  we  were  barely  in  time  to 
intercept  two  of  their  number,  who  had  been  on  duty  along 
the  river,  and  capture  them,  with  their  horses  and  equip- 
ments.     These  were  the  only  trophies  of  the  foray. 

Our  man  had,  unfortunately,  shot  himself  through  the 
hand,  which  was  amputated  at  the  wrist.  We  all  felt  much 
sympathy  for  him  in  his  loss.  He  had  been  a  teamster  most 
of  the  time  previous  to  this,  so  his  awkwardness  was  the  more 
excusable.  We  returned  to  camp  by  the  same  way  we  had 
come  without  further  incidents  of  note. 

Tlie  month  or  more  we  remained  at  Dam  Number 
Four  after  this  was  rather  monotonous.  Picket  duty  was 
again  so  heavy  as  to  leave  no  time  for  much  else.  The  return 
of  wounded  and  sick  continued,  so  our  companies  grew  to 
something  of  their  normal,  field-service  proportions.  In  con- 
sequence of  this,  as  well  as  to  fill  the  vacancies  of  Cedar 
Mountain  and  Antietam,  a  large  number  of  promotions  were 
made.  Most  of  these  promotions  had  been  recommended  while 
we  were  at  Maryland  Hights.  The  order  of  the  companies  in 
the  line  was  also  changed.  It  all  amounted  almost  to  a  reor- 
ganization of  the  regiment. 

In  the  promotions  of  company  officers  the  men  were  not 
consulted,  or  in  any  way  given  a  voice,  as  had  been  the  rule 
heretofore.  More  than  this,  several  officers  were  promoted  and 
transferred  to  other  companies  with  which  they  had  not  served 
up  to  this  time.  Most  experienced  soldiers  will  probablv 
agree  that  the  first  innovation  was  for  the  best.'  If  there  is 
any  place  where  popular  sovereignty  fails  it  is  in  choosing 
army  officers.  In  elections  elsewhere  the  one  most  unfit  and 
undeserving  is  chosen  as  often  as  the  other  one,  and  even 
more  ;  when  it  comes  to  army  service,  the  talkative,  seductive, 
vote-getter,  is  as  apt  to  turn  out  a  blunderer,  overbearing  or 
cowardly  as  otherwise. 

In  transferring  an  officer  and  placing  him  over  men  of 
another  company  there  is  more  liability  of  injustice.  It  was 
frequently  done  with  us  later.  It  was  rather  a  curious  incon- 
sistency to  be  thrust  upon  men  who  had  come  into  the  army 
votuntarily,  to  contend  to  the  very  death,  solely  to  perpetuate 
a  republican  form  of  government.   It  was  presuming  that  men 


278  HISTORY    OK    THE 

who  appreciated  self  government  enough  to  tight  and  die  for 
it,  were  not  themselves  capable  of  self  government.  But  the 
worst  feature  of  such  a  rule  was  that  it  discouraged  the  men 
of  a  company  in  their  hope  of  promotion,  through  faithful, 
capable  service.  As  far  as  the  w^riter  knows,  however,  those 
transferred  at  this  time,  as  well  as  those  promoted  in  their  own 
pompanies,  were  wholly  acceptable  to  the  men,  after  a  fair 
trial,  if  not  at  first. 

General  Gordon  left  us  on  sick  leave  at  this  time. 
Whether  so  intended  from  the  first  or  not,  he  never  returned 
to  command  the  brigade.  The  Apostle  Paul's  "Thorn  in 
the  flesh  "  was  never  removed.  In  this  we  were  more  favored 
than  was  he,  for  our's  was.  It  is  impossible  for  any  one 
not  connected  with  the  Twenty-seventh  to  understand  how 
much  more  pleasant  and  satisfactory  to  ourselves  our  service 
was  from  this  on.  To  any  member  of  the  Twenty- seventh  the 
memory  of  General  Gordon  is  a  whole  sermon  on  the  text 
"  One  sinner  destroyeth  much  good."  For  some  time  Colonel 
Colgrove  commanded  the  brigade  and  ISIajor  Birge,  in  the 
absence  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Morrison,  commanded  the 
regiment. 

Most  of  us  made  repeated  visits  to  the  Antietam  battle- 
field at  this  time.  Captain  Davis  and  others  entertained  those 
who  could  attend  with  a  number  of  informal  lectures,  or  talks, 
on  prison  life  in  Dixie.  Lectures  of  that  nature  were  not  as 
popular,  however,  then  as  they  are  now.  more  than  thirtv 
years  after  the  war. 

The  weather  grew  colder.  Several  snows  fell,  and  it  was 
common  to  have  ice  and  sleet.  Anticipating  orders  to  move, 
we  were  loth  to  spend  much  labor  in  preparing  winter  quar- 
ters, but  one  device  after  another  was  resorted  to,  that  we 
might  have  fire  in  our  tents,  and  additions  and  improvements 
were  made  to  what  had  been  done  before,  until  all  the  men 
were  quite  comfortably  housed.      Then  orders  came  to  go. 

On  December  10th,  a  cold,  raw  morning,  with  the 
roads  frozen  hard  and  glassy  with  ice,  we  marched  southward. 
At  Sharpsburg  and  the  mouth  of  the  Antietam,  we  found  the 
other  regiments  of  the  brigade.  We  had  not  seen  them  for 
ten  weeks,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  make  some  people 
understand  what  a  pleasure  it  was  to  all  of  us  to  be  thus 
reunited. 

As  one    regiment    approached    another  a  regular    uproar 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  279 

was  started.  The  air  was  laden  with  shouts  like  these  :  "  Hello, 
Third  Wisconsin,"  "  Hello,  Hundred  and  Seventh,"  "  Hello, 
Second,"  "Hello,  Thirteenth!"  -'Hello!  Hello!  Hello!" 
And  the  answering  shouts  were,  "Hello,  Twenty-seventh," 
"  Hello,  Twenty  seventh,"  "  Hello,  Twenty-seventh  !  "  inter- 
mingled on  both  sides  with  cheers,  exclamations  and  laughter. 

Journeying  on,  we  camped  the  first  night  near  by  "  John 
Brown's  school  house,"  so  called  because  there  the  grizzled  old 
hater  of  slavery  had  concealed  the  arms,  preparatory  to  the 
out  break  at  Harper's  Ferry.  A  fine  rail  fence  and  a  fair- 
sized  straw  stack,  both  in  close  proximity  to  where  the  Twen- 
ty-seventh halted,  disappeared  with  something  more  than 
usual  celerity.  Most  of  us  gave  some  attention  to  the  school 
house,  either  that  evening  or  the  next  morning.  As  the 
writer  remembers  it,  it  was  a  small,  rudely  built,  one-  oom 
house  of  round  logs,  which  few  would  take  to  be  other  than 
a  negro's  cabin. 

An  hour's  march  the  next  morning  brought  us  to  Sandy- 
Hook.  Crossing  the  Potomac  into  Harper's  Ferry,  then  the 
Shenandoah  at  its  mouth,  we  passed  down  the  Potomac  on 
the  south  side,  under  the  towering  cliff's  of  Loudon  Hights. 
Men,  even  a  solid  column  of  them,  marching  amidst  such 
mighty  natural  upheavals,  seemed  weak  and  puny  creatures. 
We  soon  turned  away  from  the  river,  in  to  the  rough,  hill- 
country  of  Loudon  county,  Virginia,  camping  for  the  night 
about  eight  miles  out. 

That  night  occurred  one  of  those  freakish  things  that 
seemed  to  be  peculiar  to  army  life.  One  of  '  Lige  Jenkin's 
mules  kicked  Billy  Harris'  big  Newfoundland  dog  over  a 
stone  fence,  twenty  feet  or  more,  landing  him  on  his  back,  in 
the  middle  of  the  supper  table  of  the  quartermaster's  mess. 
This  mule,  as  may  be  imagined,  had  a  reputation  to  sustain  as 
a  kicker  and,  of  course,  did  it  superbly.  Dear  knows  how 
long  it  had  been  playing  innocent  and  waiting  for  just  that 
kind  of  a  chance  at  the  dog.  It  all  seemed  more  ludicrous  and 
laughable  than  can  now  be  set  forth  in  words.  Comrade 
Crose,  blessings  on  his  kindly  heart,  used  to  dwell  upon  the 
odd  situation  with  much  enjoyment.  The  members  of  the 
mess  had  reason  to  congratulate  themselves  that  it  did  not 
occur  until  after  they  had  finished  their  supper.  They  had 
barely  given  place  to  the  old  darkey  cook.  What  was  his 
surprise   and   consternation,  as  he   sat   quietly   munching   his 


280  HISTORY    OF    THE 

evening  meal,  to  have  the  dog  land  where  it  did.  The  rest  of 
lis  thought  the  quartermaster's  mess  had  no  business  with 
such  a  useless  article  as  a  table,  anyway. 

The  third  day,  the  Twenty-seventh  waited  before  start 
ing,  until  almost  noon,  for  the  brigade  wagon-train  to  come 
up.  With  it  came  our  old  friends  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Penn- 
sylvania, bringing  up  the  rear.  We  had  only  seen  them 
occasionally  since  their  transfer  from  our  brigade,  shortly 
after  the  Winchester  retreat.  They  cheered  and  we  cheered, 
and  all  were  happy.  For  a  short  time  they  were  so  related  to 
our  b  igade  again  that  their  paternal  old  colonel.  Murphy,  was 
in  command  of  it. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  train  and  its  escort,  we  at  once 
moved  on.  Our  regiment  served  as  rear  guard.  The  route 
was  through  Hillsborough,  around  which  there  was  said  to  be 
a  settlement  of  Qjuakers,  and  on  to  within  four  miles  of  Lees- 
burg.  It  was  in  this  general  region  of  country  that  JNIosby, 
the  guerrilla  chief,  operated  so  long.  To-day  a  party  of  his 
men  dashed  into  the  train,  barely  ahead  of  the  Twenty-sev- 
enth, captured  a  team  and  wagon  belonging  to  a  sutler,  and 
were  making  off  with  it.  But  Colonel  Colgrove  instantly 
mustered  a  few  cavalrymen  who  happened  to  be  with  the  col- 
umn, and,  putting  himself  at  their  head,  galloped  in  pursuit, 
and  had  the  wagon  back  again  in  no  time.  The  next  day 
another  regiment  was  rear  guard,  and  two  wagons  were  taken 
and  not  recovered.  Late  at  night  we  came  up  with  the 
brigade  on  the  Little  River  Pike,  east  of  Aldie.  The  bright 
rail  fires,  circling  around  on  the  hills  and  illuminating  the 
country,  were  pleasant  to  look  upon.  The  fumes  of  boiling 
coffee  filling  the  air,  caused  our  empty  stomachs  to  cry  loudly 
for  food.  The  rear  guard  usually  comes  in  late,  more  tired 
and  hungry  than  common. 

The  fourth  day  we  marched  over  familiar  ground  to  Fair- 
fax Court  House,  and  the  fifth,  only  five  miles  or  less,  to 
Fairfax  Station.  Our  entire  corps  was  here.  The  other 
brigades  had  probably  come  from  the  upper  Potomac  by 
slightly  different  routes,  as  we  had  seen  no  signs  of  them  on 
the  way.  It  was  now  clear  that  our  destination  was  the  front, 
down  on  the  Rappahannock.  We  were  all  glad  of  it,  though 
we  were  not  destined  to  arrive  there  as  soon  as  present  appear- 
ances   indicated.       No   command   having    the    right    spirit    is 


282  HISTORY    OF    THE 

content  to  spend  its  time  idling  in  the  rear,  even  under  the 
guise  of  duty. 

The  same  day  we  had  started  from  Dam  Number  Four, 
our  comrades  at  the  front  had  dutifully  moved  out  to  assail  the 
impregnable  positions  of  the  enemy  about  Fredericksburg,  As 
we  had  journeyed  laboiiously  along,  making  our  tiresome 
marches,  they  had  been  fighting  a  hopeless,  but  heroic,  bat- 
tle. It  was  getting  to  be  an  old  story,  sickening  its  repeti- 
tion, but  we  were  forced  to  hear  it  once  more  :  Our  side  had 
lost!      This  explained  our  present  dilatoriness. 

On  the  15th,  we  only  marched  live  miles.  On  the  l(3th.  we 
marched  ten  miles,  and  camped  in  the  afternoon,  in  a  clean 
oak  grove,  on  the  bank  of  the  Ocoquan.  On  the  17th,  orders 
were  still  more  vascillating.  We  •  packed  up,  ready  to  go, 
then  waited  awhile.  Then  we  marched  a  mile,  halted  sud- 
denly, on  the  side  of  the  road,  waited  still  longer,  and  finally 
went  into  camp,  where  we  were.  On  the  18th,  we  marched 
back  to  Fairfax  Station,  and  camped  near  the  railroad,  on  the 
same  ground  we  had  occupied  a  few  nights  previously.  Here 
we  remained  quietly,  industriously  doing  nothing,  until  the 
25th.  That  day  we  moved  camp  a  quarter  of  a  mile  south, 
near  the  road. 

This  was  a  pretty  site  for  a  camp,  on  a  gently  sloping  hill- 
side, with  a  clean  running  brook  between  the  officers'  quarters 
and  those  of  the  men.  We  at  once  built  cabins  here,  covering 
them  with  our  shelter  tents.  The  great  abundance  of  smooth, 
straight,  pine  sapplings  adjoining  camp,  tempted  us  to  do 
this,  besides  the  nights  were  too  cold  and  long  to  be  without 
fire. 

If  the  writer  has  ever  done  a  meclianical  job  more  to  his 
credit  than  was  the  cabin  he  built  there,  with  a  very  dull  axe, 
no  other  tool  of  any  kind,  he  is  not  aware  of  it.  It  really 
attracted  so  much  attention  outside  that  commissioned  officers 
of  other  regiments  came  and  courteously  asked  the  privlege 
of  looking  into  it.  Tom  Acton,  Ed,  Spurgeon,  Bill  Green, 
William  Sandifer  and  William  Treadway,  the  familiar  names 
of  these  last  two  are  not  given  here  because  both  died  nobly 
for  the  flag  later  on,  and  both  sleep  in  "  Unknown  "  graves, 
these  five  stalwart,  native-born  Hoosiers,  each  one  the  very 
embodiment  of  true  comradeship,  cut  the  necessary  logs  and 
carried  them  to  the  proper  place.  Like  the  Irish  liod-carrier 
said  of  himself,  there  was  nothing  for  them  to  do,  they  only  cut 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  283 

and  carried  the  logs,  and   there  was  another  man    there   to   do 
the  work  ! 

Those  smooth,  straight  pine  logs,  almost  exactly  the 
same  size  at  both  ends,  were  ideal  in  their  fitness  for  the  pur- 
pose. And,  how  true  and  snugly  fitted  those  corners  were 
carried  up,  how  square  all  of  the  ends  of  the  logs  were,  and 
how  evenly  they  projected;  how  convenient  and  cozy  the 
interior  arrangement  was.  with  bunks  on  the  side,  a  fire  place 
in  the  end  that  would  draw  a  cat  up  the  chimney,  a  mantel- 
shelf above  it,  to  hold  our  cups  and  plates,  the  whole  as  genial 
and  inviting  as  any  marble  front  grate,  aglow  with  burning 
Anthracite.  Acton  •'  found"  boards  for  the  door  and  bunks, 
and  carried  them  on  his  back  something  less  than  five  miles, 
not  much  less  either. 

Comforts  and  joys  in  this  world  are  wholly  relative.  No 
man  or  family  ever  felt  better  satisfied  or  happier,  on  moving 
into  a  mansion  on  the  avenue,  or  felt  more  gratefully  its 
warmth  and  shelter,  than  did  we  happy-go-lucky  soldiers  in 
our  occupancy  of  th  s  soldiers'  cantonment.  Others  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  had  similar  ones  and  doubtless  felt  similarly 
about  them. 

It  has  been  the  studied  effort  all  along  to  keep  this  narra- 
tive above  the  range  of  one  humble,  individual  experience. 
Perchance  these  few  sentences  will  be  indulged,  in  part  as  the 
expression  of  a  deathless  appreciation  felt  by  the  writer  for  the 
unselfish,  devoted  friendship  of  these  unpretentious  but 
chivalric  boys;  but  more,  because  this  example  will  serve  to 
illustrate  and  impress  what  was  true  in  so  many  scoies  of 
instances  in  the  Twenty-seventh,  and  in  so  many  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  instances  in  the  army.  Nothing  could  be 
truer  to  facts  than  the  sentence  now  so  familiar  to  most  soldiers 
of  the  war  for  the  Union  :  •'  Fraternity  indeed,  if  not  in 
word,  marked  everywhere  the  true  soldier." 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  still  has  the  name,  in  some 
(piarters,  as  it  had  during  the  war,  of  always  having  had 
'•  soft  bread."  We  had  it  a  part  of  the  time  while  here,  sure 
enough.  Peing  less  than  twenty  miles  from  Washing  on, 
with  no  other  use  for  the  railroad,  it  was  probably  easier  to 
supply  us  with  bread  than  hardtack.  Bread  seemed  nice  for 
a  change  now  and  then,  but,  the  quality  of  both  being  equal, 
any  soldier  with  experience  in  the  field,  will  choose  hardtack 
in  preference,  as  a  regular  ration. 


284 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


December  28th,  in  consequence  of  a  rebel  cavalry  raid, 
^ve  were  sent  down  to  the  Ocoquan  river  again.  \Ve  were 
ordered  to  take  no  baggjage  with  us  except  our  blankets. 
This  was  to  prepare  us  for  swift  movements.  We  remained 
on  a  piece  of  bottom  land,  along  the  Ocoquan,  over  night.  It 
was  one  of  those  still,  clear  winter  nights,  when  the  firmament 
is  ablaze  with  stars  and  the  cold  bites  noses  and  ears  keenl3\ 
If  the  rails  we  burned,  in  our  efforts  to  keep  from  freezing, 
have  ever  been  paid  for,  no  wonder  the  government  still  has 
a  war  debt  hanging  over  it.  We  sat  all  night  by  huge  bon- 
fires and,  while  one  side  was  roasting,  the  other  was  cold.  In 
the  morning,  the  cheerful  intelligence  reached  us  that,  in  our 
absence,  the  enemy  had  captured  our  camp  and  destroyed 
everything  in  it.  The  report  proved  untrue,  though  there  was 
no  reason  why  it  might  not  have  been,  only  that  the  enemy 
had  not  taken  it  into  his  head  to  do  such  a  thing.  He  had 
ridden  near  our  camp,  and  it  was  entirely  at  his  mercy.* 


Maj.  Theodore  F.  Coi.grove. 


Q.  M.  Sergeant  Cross. 


For  the  benefit  of  those  eminent  commanders  who,  in 
the  future,  will  doubtless  consult  these  pages  (?)  for  informa- 
tion and  suggestions  concerning  the  conduct  of  great  military 
operations,    it    may   be    said    that,  except   to   guard    places  or 


*  The  leader  of  this  rebel  raid  was  Gen.  Fitzhujj;h  Lee.  Such  are 
the  changes  that  come  about  in  this  world,  that  the  writer  has  been  proud 
to  have  his  only  son  serve  recently  in  Gen.  Lee's  command,  in  freeing 
Luha. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  l\^0 

property,  there  is  no  sort  of  use  to  be  made  of  infantry  in  pre- 
venting or  restraining  a  cavalry  raid.  To  send  infantry  out 
into  an  open  country  to  head  off  a  column  of  cavalry,  or  with 
some  view  of  stopping  it,  as  was  so  often  done  in  the  late 
war,  is  bald  nonsense.  It  is  every  bit  as  silly  as  to  send  a  foot- 
man at  any  other  time  to  stop,  or  catch,  a  man  on  horseback. 
What  could  we  do  as  against  a  cavalry  raid,  down  on  the  Oco- 
quan?  There  was  no  special  ford  there  to  guard,  no  particu- 
lar road,  no  narrow  pass  and  no  valuable  property.  A  mounted 
enemy  could  ride  anywhere  within  a  half  mile  of  us,  with 
impunity,  and  taunt  us  with  our  helplessness. 

The  last  thing  to  receive  notice  here  was  a  review  by 
General  Williams.  What  it  was  that  stirred  "  Old  Pap"'  up 
to  have  a  review,  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture.  It  was  his 
first  and  last  attempt.  The  review  was  held  in  a  field  a  mile 
or  so  up  towards  Fairfax  Court  House,  and  \vas  a  satisfactory 
affair  to  all  concerned,  as  far  as  is  now  known. 

As  will  be  inferred  by  what  has  gone  before,  we  were 
not  anxious  to  get  away  from  this  camp.  Protection  against 
bad  weather  was  as  good  as  we  could  hope  for,  we  had  enough 
to  eat,  the  mails  came  regularly  and  duty  was  not  burden- 
some. Yet  a  soldier  obeys  orders.  A  good  soldier  obeys 
with  cheerfulness,  and  so  did  we,  when  orders  came  to  go. 

January  10th,  we  started  again  for  the  front.  This  move 
was  in  connection  with  the  celebrated  "  Mud  march,"  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  Unlike  the  main  army,  however, 
while  the  Twelfth  Corps  got  into  the  mud  for  a  certainty,  it 
did  not  stick  fast.  As  Chaplain  Qiiint  says,  sententiously, 
"  The  roads  were  fordable  in  some  places."  We  reached  Staf- 
ford Court  House  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  day.  With  the  roads 
in   tolerable  condition,  it  was  a  short,  easy,  two   days'  march. 

There  was  one  two-day  feature  about  this  march,  how- 
ever. That  was,  we  made  it  on  two  days'  rations.  Never, 
before  or  since,  has  the  writer  come  so  near  starving  to  death. 
Not  dreaming  but  that  more  would  be  forthcoming,  all  of  us 
naturally  consumed  the  two  days  rations  with  which  we 
started,  during  the  time  for  which  they  were  intended,  then 
did  almost  literally  without  during  the  remaining  three  davs. 
No  pretense  was  made  of  issuing  anvthing  to  us,  and  there 
was  nothing  in  the  barren  and  war-scoured  countrv  that  we 
could  get  hold  of.  A  railroad  now  runs  near  most  of  the  route 
we  passed  over,  and  one   sees   little   along  it  to  sustain   either 


28G 


IIISTOUV    OF    THE 


man  or  beast.  Assuredly  there  was  nothing  there  during  this 
trip.  Our  most  successlul,  lynx-eyed  foragers  failed  to  find 
even  as  much  as  a  "corn  pone"  or  piece  of  Southern  pie.  In 
rain  and  mud  interminable,  we  labored  along  and  did  entirely 
without.  Our  united,  oft-repeated  crv  of  "Crackers,  crack- 
ers," in  the  ears  of  our  kind  hearted  and  faithful,  but  helpless 
Qi'artermaster,  brought  us  nothing.  In  the  evening  of  the 
fifth  day,  we  arrived  at  our  destination,  and  late  that  night 
rations  were  issued  as  usual. 


'4 


J.   S.   Stimson,   Co.   (j. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


STAFFORD  COURT   HOUSE. 

We  now  entered  upon  another  stay  of  three  months  in  the 
same  place.  The  men  present  will  all  remember  many  things 
about  it,  and  if  it  is  said  that  the  time  was  rather  pleasantly 
spent,  it  will  be  understood  as  being  in  a  soldier  sense.  A 
year  before  this  it  would  not  have  been  so  considered. 

We  never  tarried  in  a  poorer  country.  The  whole  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  more  than  100,000  men,  was  crowded  upon 
the  barren,  ragged  strip  of  ridges  and  lullows  lying  between 
the  Potomac  and  the  Rappahannock  rivers.  Every  elevation 
on  both  sides  of  the  railroad,  from  Acquia  Creek  to  Falmouth, 
had  a  camp  perched  upon  it.  Our  isolation  from  the  outside 
world  was  also  complete.  There  was  no  communication  with 
the  North,  except  by  the  Potomac  river,  and  every  boat  upon 
it,  and  every  rod  of  its  shore,  was  under  rigid  military  sur- 
veilliance.     The  army  was  thus  a  world  to  itself. 

Still,  many  things  combined  to  give  us  agreeable  recollec- 
tions of  this  period.  We  were  well  sheltered  (for  soldiers), 
well  clothed,  well  fed,  well  treated,  and,  if  not  well  paid,  we 
were  paid  something  with  praiseworthy  regularity.  We  had 
learned  that  under  these  conditions,  a  soldier  could  and  ought 
be  contented,  if  not  happy. 

And,  in  addition  to  these  creature  comforts,  the  mails 
came  regularly,  the  daily  papers  were  on  sale  in  camp  every 
afternoon,  and  we  were  allowed  all  reasonable  latitude  in  the 
way  of  visiting  other  camps,  and  of  entertaining  ourstlves,  or 
our  friends  of  otiier  regiments,  in  our  own.  In  short,  tiie 
higher  authorities  of  the  army  began  here,  for  the  hrst  time, 
as  it  seemed  to  some  of  us,  to  show  some  decided  comprehen- 
sion of  the  fact  that  the  soldiers  were  "•  men  of  like  passions 
with  themselves."  Need  it  be  said  that  the  result  was  quickly 
apparent.?  The  matter  will  come  up  again,  but  it  is  certainly 
true  in  the  army  as  elsewhere,  perhaps  more  true  in  the  volun- 


288 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


teer  army  than  elsewhere,  that,  if  the  full  measure  of  service 
is  expected  from  men,  first  treat  them  as  men.  Show  some 
consideration  for  their  ri^-hts  and  interests. 


Gen.  Geo.  B.  McClellax. 


(First  Commander  Army  of  the 
Potomac.) 


Gen.  Joseph  Hooker. 

(Commander  of  Army  of  Potomac 
and  20th  Corps.) 

Our  permanent  camp,  or  cantonment,  was  one  mile  west 
of  the  antiquated,  weather-beaten  hamlet  of  Stafford  Court 
House.  It  was  pleasantly  situated,  to  be  in  such  a  country, 
being  upon  high,  solid  ground,  with  good  water  and  abundance 
of  wood  near  by.  The  other  regiments  of  the  brigade  were 
all  located  in  the  same  vicinity.  The  camp  of  the  Thirteenth 
New  Jersey  abbutted  against  ours  on  the  west,  their  most  direct 
way  of  getting  to  and  from  their  camp  being  through  ours. 
The  Third  Wisconsin  and  Second  Massachusetts  occupied 
ground  near  each  other,  northeast  of  us.  Their  locations  being 
upon  a  slightly  lower  level  than  ours,  gave  us  a  good  view  of 
their  parade  ground.  We  often  watched  their  drills  and  dress 
parades  with  much  satisfaction.  The  camp  of  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Seventh  New  York,  the  remaining  regiment  of  the 
brigade,  was  somewhat  farther  away,  in  a  southeasterly 
direction. 

After  giving   the    site    selected    for    a    camp    a  thorough 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  2S9 

policeing,  we  built  winter  quarters  at  once,  iur  the  third  time 
this  winter,  and  after  the  same  model.  Without  even  waiting 
for  the  quarters  to  be  completed,  we  had  general  inspection. 
The  regular  routine  of  camp  life,  as  it  should  be  witli  soldiers, 
was  also  inaugurated  at  once  and  uniformly  maintained. 
Reasonable  stints  of  drill  were  observed,  about  two  hours  in 
the  forenoon  and  two  in  the  afternoon.  The  squads  and  com- 
panies for  drill  were  usually  small  in  the  forenoon,  as  mei^ 
who  had  been  on  duty  the  previous  night  were  exempt  from 
drill  in  the  forenoon.  The  camp  guard  was  light,  but  a  heavy 
picket  line  was  rigorously  kept  up,  night  and  day,  rain  cr 
shine. 

It  is  not  an  agreeable  matter  to  recall,  but  picket  duty 
was,  at  first,  largely  directed  against  the  men  of  our  own 
army.  For  awhile  we  had  orders  to  shoot  any  person 
approaching  the  picket  line  from  the  inside,  without  the 
countersign.  The  removal  of  MoClellan  and  the  unmixed 
disaster  at  Fredericksburg,  immediately  following,  combined 
with  other  influences,  had  terribly  disheartened  many  soldiers. 
They  were  deserting  at  this  time  at  the  rate  of  nearly  3(H)  a 
day.  This  was  confined  mostly  to  drafted  men  and  those 
from  the  larger  Eastern  cities,  or  to  poorly  organized  regi- 
ments. It  was  not  true  to  any  great  extent  of  our  corps,  and 
there  was  not  a  deserter  from  the  Twenty-seventh  during  this 
period.  We  had  not  been  long  directly  under  McClellan,  and 
had  not  participated  in  the  late  battle.  If  both  of  these  had 
been  true  of  us,  however,  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  it 
would  have  changed  things  very  much.  The  devotion  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  to  the  cause  in  the  interests  of  which  it  had 
volunteered  was  deeply  rooted. 

A  goodly  number  of  letters  were  received  this  winter,  by 
different  ones  of  our  boys,  openly  requesting  and  urging  them 
to  desert.  The  writer  saw  a  few  of  such  letters.  They  were 
not  written  to  him,  but  to  others  of  his  company.  They  all 
had  the  same  tenor  :  It  wa«,  that  the  rebellion  could  never 
be  put  down  by  force,  we  were  now  waging  a  war  solely  '*  to 
free  the  nigger,"  it  had  already  lasted  longer  than  anybody 
at  first  believed  possible,  the  money  we  were  getting  was 
worthless,  the  writer  was  so  lonesome  and  melancholy,  in 
some  instances  so  destitute,  that  the  soldier  was  advised  and 
entreated  to  come  home.  In  some  letters,  names  were  given 
of   men   who    had    come   home   alreadv.      These    letters    were 

19 


290  HISTORY    OF    THE 

doubtless  one  of  the  means  resorted  to  by  the  wide,  treasonable 
conspiracy  then  active  throughout  Indiana.  Weak  parents 
and  other  relatives,  supposed  to  have  influence  with  particular 
soldiers,  were  used  as  tools  by  men  in  the  plot.  They  were 
induced  to  write  these  letters  and  the  very  words  to  be  written 
were  often  suggested.  All  such  disloyal  letters  were  wholly 
lost  on  the  Twenty-seventh.  They  were  answered  in  the  neg- 
ative very  plainly,  most  of  them  with  vicious  and  profane 
emphasis.  Some  of  them  were  sent  back  to  loyal  neighbors, 
to  be  used  as  they  thought  best. 

The  commissioned  officers  of  the  Twenty-seventh  took 
formal  action  at  this  time  with  reference  to  another  form  of 
these  developments  in  Indiana.  At  a  regularly  called  meeting 
of  the  officers  a  committee  was  appointed  which  later  re- 
ported a  series  of  preambles  and  resolutions  naming  definitely 
the  disloyal  legislature  then  in  session  and  tendering  the 
services  of  the  Twenty-seventh  to  the  governor,  if  needed,  for 
its  suppression. 

These  whereases  and  resolves,  after  being  adopted  by  the 
meeting,  were  signed  in  person  by  all  the  officers  present  with 
the  regiment,  except  one.  Those  signing  were  Col.  Silas  Col- 
grove,  Maj.  G.  W.  Birge,  Quartermaster  J.  M.  Jamison, 
Adjt.  T.  F.  Colgrove,  Asst.  vSurg.  J.  H.  Alexander,  Chaplain 
T.  A.  Whitted,  Capts.  J.  W.  Wilcoxson,  J.  C.  Williams, 
J.  A.  Cassidv,  G.  L.  Fesler,  David  Van  Buskirk,  J.  R.  Fesler, 
J.  D.  McKahin  and  T.  H.  Nance,  First  Lieuts.  S.  S.  Ham- 
rick,  J.  W.  Thornburg,  O.  P.  Furguson,  Thos.  Box,  James 
Stephens,  J.  M.  Bloss,  Peter  Fesler,  W.  W.  Dougherty  and 
\V.  H.  Holloway,  Second  Lieuts.  S.  D.  Porter,  T.  W.  Casey, 
Joseph  Balsley,  \V.  Rodick,  Isaac  B.  Van  Buskirk  and  J.  M. 
Habberly. 

The  one  exception  was  First  Lieut.  Stephen  Jerger.  A 
committee  \vas  appointed  to  see  him  and  either  obtain  his  sig- 
nature or  report  his  reasons  for  refusing  to  sign.  The  com- 
niittee  failed  in  both  respects.  The  Lieutenant  tlatly  refused 
to  hear  the  paper  read,  or  to  discuss  its  merits  with  the  com- 
mittee. 

Lieutenant  Jerger  was  a  German,  a  somewhat  recent 
arrival  in  this  country.  Being  promoted  to  captain  soon  after 
this,  he  lost  a  leg  at  Chancellorsville,  and  died  from  the  effects 
of  it,  shortly  after  the  war.  He  was  a  stern,  exacting  officer, 
but    reasonably  competent    and    faithful.      Though   his  service 


TWENTY- SE\EXTH    INDIANA. 


291 


was  somewhat  of  a  perfunctory  or  professional  character,  his 
devotion  to  the  flag  of  his  adopted  country  cannot  be  ques- 
tioned. 

This  action  of  the  officers  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  on 
being  made  public  in  Indiana,  created  a  great  commotion. 
The  resolutions  were  published  in  all  of  the  papers  and  were 
widely  read  and  discussed,  as  they  were  also  in  the  infamous 
Legislature  at  which  they  were  largely  aimed.  In  this  discus- 
sion in  the  Legislature  there  was  the  usual  rot  about  "  intimi- 
dating free  speech,"  "  military  dictation,"  etc.,  etc.  Our 
surgeon,  Johnson,  who,  having  resigned  from  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  was  cne  of  the  few  loyal  members  of  this  legislature, 
boldly  stood  up  for  his  late  comrades  in  arms,  affirming  that 
he  personally  knew  them  to  be  a  reasonable,  clear-headed 
body  of  men,  as  well  as  splendid  soldiers  and  intense  patriots. 


Lieut. -Col.  John  R.  Feslek.  Capt.  Petek  Fesler,  Co.  G. 

The  incident  may  fairly  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  what 
was  true  at  the  time  of  all  Indiana  soldiers  in  the  field,  "  re- 
gardless of  past  party  affiliations  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude."  Incipient  treason  at  home  found  little  sympathy 
among  the  soldiers  in  the  army. 

During  the  three  months  in  this  camp  we  received  eight 
months  pay.     We  were   paid   for  four  months  Jan.  :27  and  for 


292  HISTORY    OF    THE 

four  more.  April  25.  This  was  really  all  back  pay,  as  it  left 
three  months  still  due.  We  were  paid  wholly  in  treasury 
notes,  or  "Green  Backs,"  as  they  were  called,  because  printed 
on  green  paper.  There  is  some  agitation  at  the  present  time 
as  to  the  fairness  of  this  transaction.  The  course  of  the  Gov- 
ernment was  precisely  the  same  here,  in  one  respect,  as  that 
of  any  other  debtor  who,  when  he  cannot  pay  his  obligations 
in  current  money,  gives  his  note,  leaving  the  creditor  to  get 
what  he  can  for  it.  In  all  honorable,  private  transactions, 
however,  the  debtor  stands  the  discount,  as  it  is  called.  That 
is.  he  makes  the  face  of  the  note  larger,  or  in  some  other  way 
compensates  the  creditor  for  what  the  note  lacks  of  bringing 
its  face  in  the  open  market.  But  in  the  case  under  considera- 
tion the  debtor  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  He  simply  handed 
out  his  notes  for  the  face  of  the  debt  and  left  his  self-sacrificing 
creditors  to  take  them  and  get  what  they  could  for  them,  or 
do  worse.  Of  course  they  took  them.  They  would  have 
taken  them  if  they  had  only  been  worth  a  tithe  of  what  they 
really  were.  They  would  have  taken  them  and  signed  a 
receipt  in  full  of  all  claims  if  they  had  not  been  worth  any- 
thing !  They  were  the  friends  of  the  debtor,  they  were  I 
They  proposed  to  stand  by  him  in  his  troubles,  come  what 
might.  And  they  do  not  and  cannot  regret  it  now.  Unless 
their  reasons  or  their  wills  fail  them,  they  never  will  regret  it ! 

But,  if  this  debtor,  now  grown  very  rich  and  flourishing, 
with  resources  almost  unlimited,  so  much  so  that  he  pays  all 
kinds  of  claims  growing  out  of  those  disordered  times,  even 
paying  immense  claims  when  those  making  them  were  the 
admitted  leaders  in  this  attempt  to  ruin  him,  doing  it  on  the 
sole  ground  that  he  is  too  rich  and  great  to  wrong  any  one — if 
under  these  circumstances,  this  debtor  should  happen  to 
remember  these  self-sacrificing  creditors,  now  almost  univer- 
sally in  moderate  circumstances,  many  of  them  really  needy, 
and  should  recall  this  questionable  transaction  of  his,  and 
decide  to  make  it  right,  even  at  this  late  day,  such  a  course 
might  look  -veil,  to  say  the  least. 

This  is  more  of  a  part  than  the  writer  has  taken  before  in 
the  discussion  of  this  question.  It  is  of  no  great  concern  to 
him,  personally.  As  beating  upon  the  matter,  it  may  be 
stated  here  that  records  of  the  period  under  consideration, 
made  by  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  state  that  apples 
were  sixteen  dollars  per  barrel   with  us   this   winter,  and  eggs 


TWEXTY-SEVEXTH    INDIANA.  203 

fifty  cents  per  dozen,  paid  of  course  in  this  money.  These 
were  wholesale  prices,  paid  by  those  who  expected  to  sell  them 
again.  How  much  it  cost  those  who  consumed  them  to 
indulge  in  a  slight  reminder  of  home,  in  the  shape  of  apples  or 
eggs,  may  be  imagined. 

Our  regular  rations  at  this  time  were  unusually  liberal 
and  varied.  In  addition  to  pork,  beans,  coffee,  sugar,  rice, 
molasses  and  hard  tack,  with  some  fresh  beef,  all  of  which 
were  abundant  and  excellent,  we  received  onions,  beets,  car- 
rots, cabbage,  and  perhaps  other  vegetables,  occasionally. 
General  Hooker,  who  was  now  in  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  received  ihe  credit,  whether  rightfully  or  not, 
for  this  improvement  in  our  supplies,  and  to  use  a  recently 
coined  expression,  it  "  boomed  "  him  wonderfully  in  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  his  soldiers. 

There  were  other  changes  that  were  equally,  if  not  more 
inspiriting.  Things  were  not  out  of  joint  and  neglected,  as 
had  formerly  been  the  case;  not  glaringly  so,  anyway, 
wherever  it  depended  upon  staff  officers  and  others  who  were 
making  few  sacrifices  in  their  country's  service.  Nothing 
breeds  dissatisfaction  and  demoralization  as  quickly  in  an 
army  as  to  have  it  appear  that  certain  favored  classes  are  hav- 
ing it  easy,  are  habitually  neglecting  their  duties,  causing 
delay*:,  suffering  and  failures,  "and  nothing  is  said  about  it, 
Men  lose  heart  under  such  circumstances  and  become  sullen 
and  really  fractory.  They  are  incapable  of  acting  the  part  of 
good  soldiers,  when  they  see.  not  only  that  they  have  all  the 
heavy  burdens  to  bear,  but  that  they  alone  are  held  to  any  ac- 
countability. 

All  of  us  will  remember  the  peculiar  situation  of  the  Third 
Brigade  picket  line  this  winter.  It  is  doubtful,  though, 
whether  anyone  could  tell  why  it  was  ever  established  where 
it  was.  The  line  was  located  far  back,  along  a  creek,  among 
hill-  and  gorges,  densely  overgrown  with  bushes  and  trees. 
At  one  stretch,  it  crossed  a  creek  back  and  forth,  several 
times,  without  any  apparent  reason  for  it.  In  the  daytime  it 
was  a  lonesome,  wierd,  ghostly  locality,  difficult  of  access  and 
requiring  care  to  traverse.  Of  a  dark,  rainy  night,  it  became 
a  veritable  Dante's  Inferno,  demanding  as  much  courage  for  a 
lone  picket  to  remain  on  his  beat,  as  to  charge  a  battery,  under 
ordinary  conditions.  One  night  during  the  winter  there  was 
an  unusually  heavy,  wet  snow;  it  accumulated  upon  the  trees 


294  HISTORY    OK    THE 

until  it  broke  down  and  uprooted  a  great  many,  and  stripped 
the  limbs  off  of  a  still  larger  number.  All  night  long,  there 
was  a  continuous  snapping  and  roaring  in  the  forests,  followed 
by  the  crash  of  the  falling  timber,  until  one  might  have  sup- 
posed there  was  a  battle  in  progress.  When  relieved  the  next 
morning  the  men  on  picket  could  scarcely  get  to  camp,  as 
those  who  relieved  them  could  scarcely  get  out  from  camp. 

Another  night  a  picket  awoke  the  echoes,  in  the  stillness 
of  the  daik  jungle,  and  had  the  reserve  lush  to  his  aid  at 
break-neck  speetl,  through  the  tangled  undergrowth  and  over 
the  rough  ground,  by  firing  his  inusket  at  an  old  horse,  that 
was  grazing  outside.  Nobody  believed  him  when  he  said  he 
had  mistaken  the  old  horse  for  a  mounted  rebel  scout.  They 
all  knew  he  was  only  tired  of  standing  out  there  alone. 

Many  nights  were  so  inky  dark  that  no  one  could  see 
anything.  Even  those  objects  near  at  hand  could  be  dis- 
cerned quite  as  well  with  the  eyes  closed  as  open.  For  the 
relief  to  cross  the  various  foot-logs,  and  get  around  to  the  differ- 
ent posts,  was  a  great  undertaking.  At  every  foot-log  one  or 
more  of  the  men  fell  into  the  creek,  which  at  the  time  was  a 
roaring  torrent. 

Several  nights  the  pole-cats  almost  stampeded  the  entire 
Third  Brigade  picket  line.  They  were  really  expected  to 
assail  the  line  every  night.  The  rockv  ledges  along  the  creek 
furnished  them  a  natural  place  of  rendezvous,  and,  sallying 
out  in  platoons  and  battalions,  they  were  formidable  foes. 
Their  military  pomp  may  not  have  been  quite  equal  to  ours,  but 
their  equipment  for  effective,  aggressive  warfare  was  hard  to 
withstand.  A  peculiar  advantage  they  possessed  over- us  was 
that,  if  any  difference,  they  were  more  to  be  dreaded  dead  than 
alive.  The  old,  old  maxim  is  certainly  true  in  a  war  with 
pole-cats,  if  nowhere  else,  namely,  "  Discretion  is  the  better 
pa-'t  of  valor."  One  of  our  American  humorists  says,  "  He  is 
called  a  pole-cat,  because  it  is  always  best  to  handle  him  with 
a  pole,  and  the  longer  the  pole  the  better." 

There  was  more  snow  this  winter  than  the  winter  before, 
several  very  deep  ones.  One  at  least,  was  sixteen  inches  on 
the  level.  There  was  also  the  endless  amount  of  rain,  peculiar 
to  the  South  in  war-time.  One  might  conclude  on  noting  how 
all  the  data  of  that  period  are  bnrdened  with  references  to 
rain  and  snow,  that  there  was  no  fair  weather  whatever.  Yet 
there  was.    There  were  very  many  clear,  sunny  days  this  win- 


TWENTY-SEV'ENTn     INDIANA. 


295 


ter,  delightfully  mild  and  cheerful.  On  such  days  all  the 
camps  were  full  of  life.  With  those  off"  duty,  or  in  the  inter- 
vals of  drill  and  other  responsibilities,  numberless  pastimes, 
games,  trials  of  strength  and  of  speed,  visits  to  other  camps, 
shopping  errands  to  difiFerent  suttlers,  etc.,  etc.,  were  the  order. 
The  hardship  and  drui^gery  of  picket  duty  were  largely 
mitigated  this  winter  by  the  sociability  and  good  fellowship  of 
those  detailed  for  it.  No  better  instance  could  be  cited  show- 
ing how  elastic  the  spirits  of  young  soldiers  were,  and  how 
completely  they  adjusted  themselves  to  all  conditions.  Fidel- 
ity to  duty  was  balanced  with   relaxation    and   amusement   to 


^     .^=!* 


First  Lieut.  W.  W.  DoKGHEurv, 
Adjt.  of  the  27th. 


Lieut.  J.  K.  McCaskev, 
Company   I. 


the  extent  that  many  will  remember  pleasantlv.  Around 
blazing  log  heaps  the  men  of  the  reserve  played  games,  spun 
yarns,  related  former  experiences  and  achievements  (never  the 
least  bit  colored,  of  course)  cracked  jokes  (never  stale  ones) 
and  discussed  all  kinds  of  questions,  the  livelong  night.  This 
was  not  only  a  pastime,  but  greatly  promoted  mutual 
acquaintance,  especially  between  men  of  different  companies, 
who  saw  little  of  each  other  at  other  times.  Friendships  were 
then  formed  that  have  continued  to  the  present.  Despite  the 
uncanny  locality,  and  some  as  foul  weather  as  only  Southern 
weather  could  be,  in  war  time,  we  came  off  ol  duty  in  a  cheer- 


296  HISTORY    OF    THE 

fill  State  of  mind,  and  not  dreading  to  have  our  turn  come 
again. 

Another  feature  of  picket  duty  here  (and  camp  guard  as 
^velI)  that  the  boys  will  not  forget,  was  the  many  clear,  far- 
sounding  bugle  calls,  that  were  usually  the  first  harbingers  of 
the  approaching  day.  A  number  of  artillery  and  cavalry 
commands  were  encamped  in  the  vicinity,  and  some  of  them 
must  have  been  upon  higher  ground  than  most  of  the  sur- 
rounding region.  The  buglers,  too,  must  have  been  unusually 
proficient.  They  could  sound  a  bugle  equal  to  Gabriel  him- 
•self.  Almost  the  first  intimation  that  the  lonely  sentinel, 
pacing  his  beat  in  the  darkness,  would  have  that  light  was 
about  to  dawn,  would  be  the  loud  and  distinct,  but  really 
sweet  and  beautiful,  notes  of  one  of  these  bugles,  sounding 
the  reveille.  How  that  bugler  would  wake  the  echoes  in 
every  valley  and  glen  and  in  every  nook  and  jungle!  With 
^vhat  a  prolonged,  stirring  crescendo  he  would  sound  the  last 
notes.  Immediately  other  buglers  would  take  up  the  same 
call  and.  one  after  another,  the  fife  and  drum  corps  would 
join  in,  with  their  squeak  and  clatter,  until  the  whole  region 
to  our  rear  would  be  in  a  pleasing  uproar. 

Twice  during  the  winter,  a  penalty  peculiarly  military 
was  executed  upon  offenders  in  the  Twenty-seventh.  Its  force 
and  eflect  would  scarcely  be  appreciated,  except  by  those 
having  an  army  experience  and  who  understand  how  much 
every  true  soldier  prizes  his  good  name  among  his  comrades. 
On  February  4th,  three  members  of  the  regiment  were  drummed 
out  of  the  army,  for  cowardice  at  Antietam,  and  on  April 
17th,  another  suffered  the  same  penalty,  for  stealing  money 
from  his  messmates.  In  both  instances,  the  culprits  bad  been 
formally  tried  by  a  regularly  constituted  court,  and  sentence 
duly  passed.  After  having  their  heads  shaved  as  bare  as  the 
palm  of  one's  hand,  and,  in  case  of  the  first  three,  the  letter 
"C,"  for  coward,  and  in  the  case  of  the  last  one,  the  letter 
"  T,"  for  thief,  indelibly  tattooed  upon  them,  they  were 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  regiment,  and  a  file  of  men  was 
drawn  up  behind  them,  at  a  charge  bayonet.  Then,  with 
some  fifers  and  drummers  following  after  them,  playing  the 
"  Rogue's  March,"  they  passed  between  the  two  ranks  of  the 
regiment  as  they  faced  inward,  down  to  the  left,  thence 
over  the  guard  line,  and  out  of  the  camp.     That   was  all.     In 


TAVENTV-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  297 

some  other  instances  in  the  anr.y,  imprisonment  was  added  to 
this  punishment,  but  not  in  these.  It  should  have  been  added 
with  the  last.  He  was  an  incorrigible  and  heartless  thief,  and 
the  offense  for  which  he  w^as  punished  was  very  aggravated. 
In  civil  life,  a  like  offense  would  receive  the  maximum  of  time 
in  the  state's  prison.  The  writer  was  not  personally  knowing 
to  the  circumstances  relating  to  the  offense  of  the  others, 
though  their  guilt  was  doubtless  clearly  proved,  at  least  in 
form.  None  of  the  disgraced  culprits  ever  appeared  in  camp 
again. 

There  were  not  many  furloughs  granted  to  members  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  during  this  period.  Perhaps  even  fewer 
enlisted  men  visited  their  homes  this  winter  than  the  one  pre- 
vious. Owing  to  the  expense  of  the  trip  and  the  shortness  of 
the  time  allow^ed,  as  compared  to  the  distance,  few  cared  to 
go,  anyway.  But  Colonel  Colgrove,  and  several  others  of 
the  commissioned  officers,  visited  Indiana  at  this  time. 

During  a  part  of  our  stay  near  Stafford  Court  House  we 
had  the  system  of  company  cooks  in  the  Twenty-seventh.  It 
was  never  regarded  with  favor  among  us.  We  did  not  seem 
to  get  as  much  good  from  our  rations  that  way  as  by  the  small 
mess  system.  Whether  all  ate  more,  or  the  ravages  of  the 
gormandizers  were  more  noticeable,  or  whether  the  company 
cooks  were  wasteful  or  venial,  we  never  knew.  What  we  did 
know  was  that,  when  we  hud  no  company  cooks,  but  divided 
the  rations  among  small  messes,  and  allowed  them  to  do  their 
own  cooking,  unless  the  issue  was  very  short,  we  had  plenty 
and  to  spare.  That  was  true  of  the  men  generally.  But 
when  we  had  company  cooks,  no  matter  how  liberal  our 
rations  appeared  to  be,  or  who  did  the  cooking,  there  was  a 
general  complaint  of  gnawing  stomachs.  Hence  the  company 
cook  was  not  a  favorite  with  us.  All  songs  and  other  refer- 
ences to  "  Mess  Tents  "  stir  up  only  harrowing  and  unsavory 
recollections  in  our  minds.  At  this  time,  however,  orders 
from  higher  authority  somewhere  positively  enjoined  this 
regulation.  Extra  efforts  were  made  by  company  officers  and 
others  (also  enjoined  bv  higher  authority)  to  have  it  work 
satisfactorily.  It  may  have  done  better  now  than  formerly,  or 
it  may  not ;  but  we  never  tried  it  again,  after  leaving  this 
camp. 

The  best  illustration  of  the  difference  between  the  system 
of  company  cooks  and  that  of  small  messes  that  is  possible  for 


298 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


the  ordinary  citizen  is  to  imap[ine  all  the  families  in  a  village 
or  in  a  certain  district  of  a  city,  regardless  of  their  habits  or  pro- 
pensities, giving  up  their  own  homes  and  domestic  way  of 
living  and  begin  living  in  one,  common  hash-house.  Those 
that  have  self-respect,  not  to  mention  love  of  order,  cleanliness 
and  plenty,  would  soon  understand  in  that  way,  something 
about  the  company  cook  system  in  the  army.  Yet  the  War 
Department,  and  most  of  those  high  up  in  the  army  establish- 
ment, are  intensely  set  on  having  a  company  cook  in  each  and 
every  company. 


1 

i 

-^    '■: 

1 

"* 

w 

-«. . 

j£^ 

l"* 

HI 

W- 

1 

1  f""~ 

rfe.  / 

L 

-^  ! 

L 


jMaj.  Gen.  Henrv  W.  Slocum. 
(From  a  War  Time  Photograph.) 


Gen.  Thos.  H.  Ruger, 

(From  Photograph  Kept  by  Capt. 

Williams  since  the  War.) 


We  participated  in  three  grand  reviews  during  this  period. 
The  first  was  on  March  5th,  by  Maj.-Gen.  H.  VV.  Slocum. 
He  had  succeeded  the  lamented  Mansfield  in  command  of  our 
corps,  while  we  were  at  Maryland  Ilights,  but  up  to  this  time 
we  had  seen  little,  if  anything,  of  him.  As  the  commander  of 
the  larger  Twentieth  Corps,  later  on,  and  of  vSherman's  Left 
Wing,  in  the  March  to  the  Sea,  and  up  through  the  Carolinas, 
Slocum    became    widely   and    favorably    known.      He     never 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  2'J9 

attained  to  a  higher  position,  or  wider  fame,  than  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Twenty-seventh  wished  for  him  and  believed  him 
worthy  of.  He  was  a  quiet,  retiring,  cultured  gentleman, 
always  unassuming  and  courteou-,  but  as  uniformly  hrm  and 
capable.  At  this  tinie  he  could  not  have  weighed  much  over 
150  pounds  and  was  about  85  years  of  age. 

The  other  two  grand  reviews  were,  first  by  General 
Hooker,  March  18th,  then  by  President  Lincoln,  April  lOih. 
All  of  these  reviews  were  held  in  some  rather  level  fields, 
something  like  a  mile  east  of  Stafford  Court  House.  There 
was  nothing,  either  in  the  display  attempted  or  the  services 
exacted,  that  could  be  called  unreasonable  in  any  of  them. 

General  Hooker  was  also  a  stranger  to  us  previous  to 
this.  He  had  been  placed  in  command  of  the  army  whi  e  we 
were  absent  on  the  upper  Potomac.  He  was  nothing  if  not 
theatrical.  His  appearance  upon  the  field  at  this  review  was 
strongly  suggestive  of  colored  lights,  made-to-order  scenery, 
character  dressing  and  other  stage  effects.  He  came  amid  the 
thunderous  roar  of  cannon,  mounted  upon  his  noted  white 
stallion,  moving  like  the  wind,  a  hundred  or  more  staff  officers 
and  orderlies  galloping  at  his  heels.  The  whole  cavalcade 
was  gorgeous  and  resplendant  in  shining  new  uniforms.  The 
gilt  and  tinsel  of  their  shoulder  straps,  buttons  and  ornaments 
gleamed  in  the  sunlight,  and  -^carlet  sashes  and  various  colored 
banners,  guidons  and  stieame  rs  waved  and  fluttered  conspicu- 
ously. But  if  such  vanities  formerly  impressed  soldiers  wi;h 
the  capabilities  of  their  leaders,  their  tendency  must  have 
been  in  the  opposite  direction  during  the  Civil  war.  especially 
among  the  practical,  matter-of-fact  men  of  the  West.  This 
seems  to  be  very  clear  in  the  inner,  personal  history  of  those 
days.  Such  displavs  prejudiced  men  against  a  commander,  if 
anything. 

To  this  review  by  Hooker  the  Tvventy-sevcnth  carried,  fur 
the  first  time, the  two  splendid  new  flags — the  one  a  regulation 
national  flag  and  the  other  the  Indiana  State  colors,  which 
Colonel  Colgrove  had  recently  brought  with  him  from  Indian- 
apolis. They  were  furnished  by  the  Sta  e,  through  Governor 
Morton,  as  a  special  recognition  of  the  services  of  the  regi- 
ment. These  same  flags  now  repose  in  the  llag  room  of  the 
State  House  at  Indianapolis,  duly  marked  as  having  belonged 
to  the  Twenty-seventh,  They  were  carried  until  the  linal 
muster  out. 


800 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


In  tlie  hands  of  members  of  the  regiment  and  waving 
over  its  sturdy  ranks,  their  silken  folds  kissed  the  breezes  in 
nine  different  States  of  the  Union  and  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  By  strong  and  devoted  arms  they  were  proudlv 
held  above  the  fighting  line  at  Chancellor&ville,  Gettysburg, 
Resaca,  New  Hope  Church,  Culps  Farm,  Peach  Tree  Creek 
and  the  Siege  of  Atlanta.  More  than  one  fearless  hero 
received  his  mortal  wound  while  engaged  in  this  extra  haz- 
ardous, though  cheerful,  duty.  Nearly  a  score  of  others  have 
gone  crippled  through  life,  because  they  dared  to  do  the  same. 
Those  flags  are  faded  and  soiled  on  account  of  their  long 
exposure  to  the  sun  and  rain,  they  were  badlv  snagged  and 
torn  by  the  exigencies  of  the  hard  service  through  which  they 
pass'^d,  and  rebel  bullets  innumerable  cut  savagely  through 
their  once  beautiful  stripes  and  starry  fields  of  blue.  But 
they  were  never  dishonored.  They  were  never  tainted  by  the 
touch  of  a  disloyal  hand.  Their  sacied  shadows  never,  never 
rested  upon  a  coward. 

Not  to  have  gi\en  all  the  soldiers  an  opportunity  to  see 
the  illustrious  and  beloved  President  Lincoln,  while  visiting 
the  army,  would  have  been  a  crime.  Much  as  we  all  revered 
him,  even  then,  and  implicitly  as  we  all  believed  in  him,  many 
of  us  never  saw  him  before  or  afterwards.  That  sight  alone 
almost  compensated  us  for  our  entire  service  in  the  army.  To 
have  lived  in  his  generation  without  seeing  him  would 
be  a  matter  of  lifelong  regret.  And  the  vision  of  his  tall, 
angular  form,  his  long,  dangling  legs,  his  pants  working  up 
and  exposing  his  boot  tops,  his  high  silk  hat  bobbing  up  and 
down  on  his  head,  as  he  trotted  by  on  horseback  ;  and  his 
plain,  homely  and  sad,  though  noble,  kindly  and  inspiring 
face,  as  it  beamed  upon  us  when  we  marched  by  him  in 
review,  will  be  fondly  and  proudly  cherished  by  each  of  us, 
when  the  resounding  salvos  of  artiller}-,  the  brilliant  caval- 
cade of  high  officers  and  their  retinues,  the  blare  of  bugles  and 
the  music  of  bands,  the  fluttering  and  drooping  of  flags  and 
banners,  the  endless  procession  of  marching  and  wheeling  bat- 
talions of  trained  veterans,  and  the  many  other  factors  of  that 
great  and  memorable  pageant,  have  faded  entirely  out  of 
mind. 

The  President  had  then  the  short,  rather  uneven  whis- 
kers, that  he  seems  to  have  worn  during  most,  if  not  all,  of  his 
administration.      Pictures   of   him    were  so  common    that   anv 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  801 

one  of  us  would  likely  have  known  him  anywhere.  In  that 
sense  we  were  neither  surprised  nor  disappointed  by  his  appear- 
ance. In  every  respect,  however,  in  which  we  had  not  heard 
about  him,  and  in  all  those  gifts  and  graces  with  which  our 
youthful  imagination,  had  endowed  him,  he  measured  more 
than  up  to  the  standard.  Above  all  else,  the  evident  fellow- 
feeling  that  he  had  for  all  true  men,  and  his  evident  apprecia- 
tion of  the  services  we  were  trying  to  render  the  country, 
about  which  no  one  could  be  mistaken  who  saw  him,  greatly 
cheered  and  encouraged  all  of  us.  He  seemed  even  more  like 
"  Father  Abraham  "  to  us  after  this  than  he  had  before. 

The  entire  Twelfth  Army  Corps,  its  full  quota  of  infan- 
try, artillery,  and  the  cavalry  on  duty  with  it,  except  the  small 
numbers  on  other  details,  were  present  at  this  review.  And 
the  details  for  the  various  necessary  duties  had  been  reduced 
as  much  as  ]  ossible.  The  ground  was  sufficiently  open  and 
level,  so  that  all  were  in  sight  at  once.  The  occasion  probably 
has  the  addit  onal  distinction,  therefore,  of  being  the  largest 
number  of  soldiers  any  of  us  ever  saw,  at  any  one  time. 

As  the  spring  advanced  various  orders  began  to  fore- 
shadow a  move.  One  required  the  packing  of  overcoats,  and 
all  surplus  blankets  and  clothing,  to  be  shipped  to  Washing- 
ton for  storage  through  the  summer.  These  came  back  to  us 
in  Tennessee,  the  following  autumn.  In  obedience  to  another 
order,  eight  days'  rations  were  drawn  by  regimental  quarter- 
masters, which  also  required  that  they  should  henceforth  keep 
that  amount  constantly  on  hand  thereafter.  In  obedience  to 
a  third  order,  cne  hundred  rounds  of  cartridges  were  issued  to 
each  soldier.  This  meant  that  besides  having  his  cartridge 
box  full,  every  man  should  have  not  less  than  three  pounds  of 
powder  and  lead  in  his  pockets  or  haversack. 

Those  writers  who  speak  of  soldi  ers  carrying  their  sur[)lus 
cartridges  in  their  knapsacks,  as  many  of  them  do,  and  as 
some  officers  did  at  the  time,  do  not  know  of  the  prudence  and 
forethought  of  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh.  It  was  the 
rule  with  us,  and  others,  to  unsling  knapsacks  when  going 
into  an  engagement.  A  Twenty  seventh  soldier  knew  better, 
therefore,  than  to  put  his  extra  cartridges  in  his  knapsack.  If 
he  ever  needed  extra  cartridges  it  was  at  a  time  when  he  was 
not  likely  to  h  ive  his  knapsack  at  hand. 

Once  we  had  marching  orders,  but,  a   rain  coming  on   be- 


802 


IIISTOUV    OK    THE 


fore    he  time  to  start,  the  orders  were  co jntermanded.     There 
was  to  be  no  "  sticking  in  the  mud  "  this  time. 

On  April  20th,  a  week  before  the  final  start,  our  Corps 
Badges  were  issued  to  us.  This  was  another  instance  in  the 
army  where  a  little  thing  exercised  a  great  and  salutary 
influence.  A  corps  badge  was  a  small  flannel  patch,  worn  on 
the  hat,  or  cap,  to  indicate  the  corps,  and  also  the  division,  to 
which  a  soldier  belonged.  The  idea  is  said  to  have  originated 
with  the  much  lamented  Kearney,  and  finally  came  to  be  used 
everywhere  in  the  army,  both  East  and  West.      The   shape  of 


vSergt.  J.  B.  Gamboi.d,  Co.  A.      Sergt.-Maj.  James  R.  Shakp 

(Recent  Portrait.) 

the  patch  indicated  the  corps,  and  the  color  of  it  indicated  the 
division.  Who  decided  the  matter  we  never  learned,  but  we 
always  felt  glad  that  the  men  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  had  the 
five  pointed  star,  the  same  that  is  on  the  flag,  assigned  to  them 
for  their  corps  badge.  Being  in  the  First  Division,  we  wore  a 
red  star.  Members  of  the  Second  Division  wore  a  white  star, 
and  the  Third  Division  wore  a  blue  star.  Other  corps  had 
differently  shaped  emblems,  but  the   colors  denoting  the  divi- 


T\VENTV-SE\-EXTH     INDIANA.  308 

sions  were  tlie  same  in  all.  One  corps  in  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  had  a  sphere,  another  a  clover  leaf,  another  a  dia- 
mond, another  a  Maltese  cross,  another  a  Roman  cross,  etc. 
From  the  first,  much  pride  and  enthusiasm  were  awakened  by 
these  corps  badges,  naturally  increasing  later  en.  Men  were 
led  to  m.ake  exert-ions  and  overcome  difficulties,  which,  be- 
fore, they  would  not  have  thought  possible,  in  order  to 
enhance  or  maintain  the  reputation  of  those  wearing  a  certain 
badge.  To  this  day  a  red  star,  or  even  a  white  or  blue  star, 
wherever  it  is  seen,  has  a  peculiar  and  mysterious  influence 
over  any  member  of  the  Twenty-seventh. 

These  corps  badges  were  eventually  placed  also  on 
wagons,  ambulances,  hospital  tents,  markers,  headquarter 
flags,  etc..  etc.  This  put  an  end  to  much  of  the  waiting, 
hunting  and  confusion  that  had  been  so  annoying  previouslv. 
A  soldier  alone,  or  a  commander  leading  a  column,  could  often 
locate  himself  at  once,  by  this  means.  A  wagon  or  ambulance 
rolling  by.  a  small  piece  of  bunting  floating  from  a  pennant, 
even  a  lone  soldier  trudging  along,  or  lounging  at  the  road 
side  displaying  a  certain  emblem  afl"orded  the  necessary 
hint. 

While  we  were  at  vStaflbrd  Court  House  Col.  Thos.  H. 
Ruger,  of  the  Third  Wisconsin,  was  made  a  brigadier-general 
and  given  command  of  our  brigade.  The  same  General  Ruger 
has  figured  conspicuously,  in  high  stations  in  the  army,  in 
more  recent  years.  He  was  no  stranger  to  us  now,  the  Third 
having  been  in  our  brigade  all  along.  A  graduate  of  West 
Point,  like  so  many  other  successful  generals  of  the  war,  he  had 
been  out  of  the  army  and  engaged  in  civil  pursuits  for  some 
time.  Without  losing  anything  of  value  in  their  militarv 
training  or  experience,  this  mixing  with  the  people,  and 
acquaintance  with  the  aff"airs  of  every  day  life  and  its  practical 
problems,  many  believe,  was  the  essential  element  of  success 
in  the  careers  of  these  men.  It  divorced  them  from  some  of 
the  pedantic  and  hampering  technicalities  of  military  schools, 
made  them  more  self-reliant  and  resourceiul,  and,  best  of  all, 
gave  them  an  opportunity  to  learn  men,  and  imbibe  a  wisdom 
and  tact  in  dealing  with  men,  that  no  school  has  ever  taughr, 
and  that  few  persons  who  liave  gone  directly  from  West  Point 
into  the  army,  and  remained  there,  have  ever  exhibited  the 
least  sign  of  possessing. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  Ruger  was  a  lawver  at  Janes- 


804  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ville.  Wis.  He  was  close  to  thirty-three  years  old  when 
placed  in  command  of  the  Third  Brigade.  As  he  continued 
in  command  of  it  until  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  he  had  much  to  do 
with  its  record.  While  he,  nor  no  one  else,  seemed  to  strive 
after  wide  fame  for  this  brigade,  especially  not  in  the  way  of 
advertising  it  by  a  peculiar,  catchy  name,  its  conduct,  from 
first  to  last,  the  way  it  held  its  ground  when  sorely  beset,  the 
battle  losses  of  its  regiments,  the  reports  of  eye  witnesses  who 
saw  it  in  tight  places,  particularly  the  incidental  and  indirect 
testimony  to  be  found  in  the  reports  of  those  who  confronted 
it  on  the  many  sanguinary  fields  where  it  fought,  and  their 
record  of  losses,  all  of  these,  are  interesting  to  contemplate, 
especially  to  one  who  was  in  its  ranks.  And  he  is  not  con- 
fused by  comparing  themwith  others,  even  with  some  who,  at 
the  time,  if  not  since  the  facts  and  figures  have  been  officially 
made  public,  were  making  more  pretensions. 

There  were  also  an  additional  number  of  promotions  in 
the  Twenty-seventh  during  this  period.  Without  intending 
to  reflect  in  the  least  upon  those  previously  filling  the  same 
positions,  and  without  really  doing  so  in  fact,  it  might  be  said, 
in  a  general  way,  that  every  such  promotion  increased  the 
efficiency  of  the  regiment  and  was  for  the  good  of  the  service. 
In  most  instances,  the  men  vacating  positions  were  them- 
selves promoted;  where  this  was  not  the  case  the  new  officer, 
because  he  came  up  from  below,  with  a  wider  experience, 
including  the  example  of  the  one  he  succeeded,  was  able  to 
improve  upon  what  had  gone  before. 

Three  of  these  promotions,  in  particular,  because  affect- 
ing the  Twenty-seventh  as  a  whole,  were  very  fortunate  and 
had  a  most  salutary  influence  upon  its  subsequent  career. 
Capt.  John  R.  Fesler,  of  Company  G,  was  made  lieutenant-col- 
onel, Adjt.  T.  F.  Colgrove  was  made  major  and  Lieut.  W.  W. 
Daugherty,  of  Company  H,  was  made  adjutant. 

Colonel  Fesler  was  almost  a  model  volunteer  officer.  His 
unfailing  competencv  and  his  sterling,  manly  character  com- 
manded deference  and  respect  in  all  quarters;  while  his 
modest,  unassuming  demeanor  and  genial  disposition  gave 
him  an  influence  over  men  that  they  could  not  getaway  from. 

Major  Colgrove  knew  the  tactics  as  well  as  he  did  the 
a,  b,  c's,  and  his  intimate  relations  with  the  head  of  the  regi- 
ment gave  it  the  benefit  of  his  knowledge  to  an  extent  that 
could   not    have    been  true   of  any   one    else.      From    this    on 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA,  ;)(!;) 

blunders  on  reviews  and  in  other  public  places,  as  well  as  in 
battles  and   other  tight  places,  became  unknown. 

An  adjutant  has  much  to  do  in  giving  spirit  and  tone  to 
the  daily  round  of  duties  in  a  regiment.  Whether  anything 
is  done  on  time  or  in  exactly  the  right  way  depends  much 
upon  him.  A  man  should  bring  to  the  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  that  office  not  only  exact  military  and  business  training,  but 
quick  perceptions  and  a  tireless  energy.  All  of  these  were 
possessed  by  Lieutenant  Dougherty.  He  continued  as  adjutant 
until  the  end,  and  an  improvement  upon  him  in  the  office  could 
scarcely  have  been  possible. 

Thus  provided  with  officers,  we  were  ready  lor  another 
campaign, — Slocum  in  command  of  the  corps,  Williams  the 
division,  and  Ruger  the  brigade.  Colonel  Colgrove  was  still 
at  the  head  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  with  John  R.  Fesler,  T. 
F.  Colgrove,  and  W.  W.  Dougherty  as  his  principal  aides 
among  the  fighting  contingent.  All  of  the  companies  were 
also  provided  with  experienced,  capable  captains  and  lieu- 
tenants. In  the  hopeful  spirit  and  the  high  ambition  to  excel, 
which  animated  every  member  of  it,  from  highest  to  lowest, 
no  less  than  in  its  improved  organization,  the  Twenty-seventh 
was  never  in  such  a  promising  condition  for  eflPective,  telling 
service  as  at  this  time. 


20 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


CHANCELLORS  VILLE. 

In  this  chapter  upon  the  part  which  the  Twentv-seventh 
bore  in  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  the  writer  desires  to 
acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  Comrade  Bresnahan,  for  his 
iible  article  upon  the  subject,  read  at  the  reunion  of  the  regi- 
ment at  Washington.  Ind.,  and  published  in  the  Lidianapolis 
Journal. 

Early  on  ^Monday  morning,  April  27,  18G3,  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  along  with  the  balance  of  the  Twelfth  Army  Corps, 
marched  brisklv  out  of  its  home-like  camp,  near  StatTord 
Court  House.  Our  hearts  were  never  lighter,  or  our  steps 
more  cheerful.  In  the  estimation  of  common  soldiers,  as  well 
as  exalted  commanders,  the  time  had  come  for  action.  We 
all  felt  that  we  could  do  something  toward  suppressing  the 
rebellion  if  we  had  a  chance,  and  we  firmly  believed  that  we 
were  now  going  to  have  it. 

We  carried  an  unusual  load,  not  of  clothing,  bedding  or 
of  personal  conveniencies,  but  of  food  and  ammunition. 
Every  soldier  had  about  his  person  eight  days'  rations  and  one 
hundred  rounds  of  cartridges.  General  Slocum  says  this  was 
more  than  double  the  amount  of  rations  ever  carried  by  any 
troops  in  that  army  before.  Prior  to  this,  we  had  never  car- 
ried more  than  sixty  rounds  of  cartridges.  After  going  twelve 
miles,  in  the  direction  of  the  upper  Rappahannock,  we 
bivouacked  near  Hart  wood  church.  Here  we  met  also  the 
troops  of  the  Eleventh  Corps. 

A  limited  number  of  small  fires  were  allowed,  to  prepare 
supper,  but  before  dark  a  detail  was  sent  around  to  make  sure 
that  they  were  all  extinguished.  Verbal  orders  were  also 
given  prohibiting  loud  talking,  cheering,  or  any  kind  of  noise. 
Before  the  commanding  general  had  passed  us  on  the  road, 
staff'  officers  and  orderlies  had  ridden  ahead  to  caution  the 
soldiers  against  demonstrations. 

Next  morning  we  were  again  on  the  road  early.  Moving 
swiftly  but    silently  we   bivouacked    that    night   near  Kelley's 


TWENTY- SEVENTH     INDIANA. 


307 


Ford.     The   same   precautions  against  fires   and    noi>es   were 
again  enforced. 

During  the  night  a  pontoon  bridge  was  thrown  across  the 
Rappahannock,  and  early  the  next  morning  the  Eleventh 
Corps  crossed  over.  After  crossing,  however,  the  Eleventh 
Corps  halted   near  the  river,  while  the  Twelfth  Corps  crossed 


!!;■'.':/  ji*^'  ^\ 


>  > 


-     X 

>  s 

z 


c 


n 


'4    7^ 


? 


and  passed  to  the  front.  The  Twenty-seven'h  was  in  the  lead 
of  the  Twelfth  Corps.  "  Send  three  or  four  smart  marching 
regiments  to  sieze  Germaina  Ford,"  Hooker  had  instructed 
Slocum.      This  ford  is  where  the  Culpeper    and  Fredericks- 


808  HISTORY    OF    THE 

burg  road  crosses  the  Rapidan  river.  There  were  fifty-six 
regiments  to  choose  from,  but  the  duty  devolved  upon  the 
Tiiird  Wisconsin,  Second  ISIassachusetts  and  Twenty -seventh 
Indiana.  While  the  Twenty  seventh  was  the  leading  regi- 
ment, Company  C  was  deployed  as  skirmishers  on  the  right 
of  the  road  and  Company  F  on  the  left.  In  advance  of  them, 
sometimes  lialf  a  mile  and  sometimes  five  rods,  depending 
upon  the  attitude  of  the  enemy,  was  a  small  detachment  of 
cavalry.  As  long  as  our  direction  was  southerly,  straight  out 
from  the  river,  a  plucky  force  of  mounted  rebels  disputed  our 
progress.  They  kept  carefully  out  of  range  of  our  muskets, 
but  showed  little  fear  of  the  cavalry.  After  our  sharp  turn 
to  the  left,  eastward,  we  saw  no  more  of  them,  though  they 
seem  to  have  annoyed  the  column  behind  us  somewhat. 

The  march  was  truly  "  smart."  The  writer  was  out  on 
the  flank  of  the  skirmish  line,  one  hundred  yards  or  so  from 
the  road.  Heavily  laden,  passing  over  much  rough  ground, 
covere  1  with  various  impediments,  to  keep  abreast  with  the 
column  in  the  road  required  vigorous  and  sustained  exertion. 
After  going  some  miles,  the  skirmish  line  was  made  heavier, 
and  the  supports  increased.  To  do  this  the  Third  ^Visconsin 
was  brought  up  and  marched  with  the  Twenty-seventh,  also 
furnishing  the  skirmishers  on  the  left  of  the  road. 

On  nearing  Germaina  Ford,  it  was  ascertained  that  a 
small  force  of  the  enemy  was  posted  there.  In  making  dis- 
positions to  attack  it,  which  was  speedily  done,  the  Twenty- 
seventh  was  held  in  the  road  as  a  support,  while  on  either  side 
were  the  Third  Wisconsin  and  Second  Massachusetts,  pre- 
ceded by  skirmishers.  The  enemy,  as  it  afterwards  developed, 
consisted  of  only  about  125  men,  recently  brought  there  to 
rebuild  the  bridge,  which  had  been  destroyed.  They  had 
evidently  had  no  intimation  of  our  approach,  as  part  of  them 
were  still  on  our  side  of  the  river.  By  a  prompt  advance,  the 
entire  detail  was  captured  or  killed  ;  there  were  several  of  the 
latter. 

We  had  a  good  illustration,  to-day,  of  the  difference 
between  the  operations  of  cavalry  and  infantry.  From  early 
morning  the  cavalry  of  the  two  sides  had  been  raising  a  great 
hubbub.  A  good  part  of  the  time  their  carbines  and  pistols 
were  popping  furiously.  There  was  charging  and  counter- 
charging, that  fairly  shook  the  earth.  Yet  the  total  casualty, 
as  far  as  it  appeared  from  our  standpoint,  was  one  Union  cav- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA, 


309 


alryman  thrown  by  his  horse  stiiinblin<r,  by  which  he  was 
considerably  bruised,  and  one  rebel  captured,  on  account  of  a 
similar  mishap.  But  when  our  cavalry  ran  on  to  this  rebel 
infantry,  one  was  killed    and  two  or  three    were    wounded  bv 


n 


the  first   fire   they  drew.      And  no  sooner    had  the   infantry  of 

the  two  sides  come  in  conflict  than  blood  began  to  flow  freely. 

The  next  step,  after  disposing  of  this  trifling  opposition, 


310  HISTORY    OF    THE 

was  to  get  troops  across  the  stream,  to  hold  the  approaches  on 
that  side,  while  a  bridge  could  be  improvised.  General  Slo- 
cum  gave  orders  for  our  brigade  to  wade  over  forthwith.  The 
Twenty-seventh  moved  down  to  the  water's  edge  and  made 
preparations  to  enter,  but  there  was  some  delay.  After  giv( 
ing  the  order  to  ford  the  stream,  General  Slocum  had  ridden 
awav,  as  if  to  give  attention  to  other  matters.  General  Will- 
iams and  General  Ruger  were  present,  with  Colonel  Colgrove, 
and  it  was  the  writer's  understanding  that  neither  of  these 
believed  it  possible  for  men  to  withstand  the  current.  A  few 
mounted  men  were  crossing  at  the  time.  The  water  was  mid- 
side  to  the  horses  and  terribly  swift.  Several  horses  lost  their 
footing  and,  with  their  riders,  went  down  the  stream,  rolling 
over  and  over.  They  eventually  made  the  shore,  so  that  none 
of  them  were  drowned,  but  the  prospect  did  look  forbidding 
for  footmen  to  venture  in.  Presently  Slocum  returned,  and 
with  more  impatience  and  harshness  than  we  ever  saw  him 
exhibit  on  any  other  occasion,  inquired  why  the  crossing  was 
not  in  progress,  adding  that  when  he  gave  an  order  he  expected 
it  to  be  obeyed.  Then,  sitting  upon  his  horse,  he  personally 
directed  the  entrance  into  the  water,  at  least  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  which  was  the  first  infantry  to  cross.  As  we  passed 
him,  he  had  us  join  hands,  two  and  two.  This  worked  like  a 
charm.  It  was  simple  but  effective.  Athough  the  water 
came  to  our  armpits,  and  was  so  very  swift,  with  a  rough, 
slippery  botjtom,  no  one  of  us  was  washed  down. 

We  had  taken  off  our  cartridge  boxes  and  some  of  our 
clothing,  and  carried  them  upon  our  bayonets.  Articles  in  our 
pockets,  likelv  to  be  damaged,  were  transferred  to  receptacles 
higher  up  on  our  persons.  Some  passed  such  articles  to 
mounted  officers.  Noticing  this,  General  vSlocum  said,  pleas- 
antly, "  Never  mind  your  pocketbooks,  boys,  but  keep  your 
powder  dry."  Thus  our  brigade,  and  the  First  Brigade  of  our 
division  passed  over.  A  few  members  of  other  regiments  lost 
their  footing,  and  got  thoroughly  drenched  in  the  cold  water, 
but  no  lives  were  lost. 

General  Slocum  does  not  seem  to  have  been  at  heart  as 
sanguine  of  the  success  of  the  undertaking  as  his  urgent  man- 
ner in  putting  it  to  the  test  had  the  appearance  of.  In  his 
report  he  says  :  ''I  have  never  witnessed  a  scene  that  tended 
to  increase  my  confidence  in  our  troops,  or  that  so  strongly 
excited  my  admiration,  as  that  presented   by  tlie  two  brigades 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  311 

of  Williams'  division  in  fording  the  Rapidan  river.  This  ford 
is  a  very  difficult  one  at  all  times,  the  current  being  very 
rapid,  and  the  water  being,  in  many  places,  at  least  four  feet 
deep.  Not  only  the  officers,  but  every  soldier,  seemed  to 
appreciate  the  necessity  of  speedily  gaining  the  opposite  bank  ; 
and  they  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in  their  eagerness  to 
execute  the  order."  He  might  have  added  that  the  soldiers 
treated  it  as  a  species  of  fun,  and  that  the  crossing  was  accom- 
plished amid  much  shouting,  laughter  and  merriment. 

No  sooner  was  the  Twenty-seventh  over  than  we  climbed 
the  opposite  bank  and  formed  in  line  a  short  distance  out.  As 
the  other  regiments  came  over  they  joined  us  on  this  line,  and 
later  all  moved  out  a  mile  or  so  from  the  river  and  passed  the 
night.  That  is,  we  waited  with  what  patience  and  fortitude 
we  could  command  for  the  coming  day.  Part  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  was  on  picket,  while  the  balance  acted  as  the  reserve. 
The  cloth  s  of  all  were  wet  above  the  waist,  from  fording  the 
river,  and  a  cold  rain  fell  during  the  night. 

A  temporary  bridge  was  soon  Dlaced  upon  the  stone  piers 
of  the  former  one,  and,  by  four  o'clock  next  morning,  both 
corps  were  across  the  Rapidan.*  We  did  not  start  very  early 
this  morning,  the  30th  of  April,  but  by  1  :  00  P.  M.  we  were 
near  Chancellorsville.  This  distance  is  th'rteen  miles.  Arriv- 
ing there,  our  brigade  diverged  from  the  plank  road,  near  where 
the  Jackson  monument  now  stands,  and,  going  four  or  five 
hundred  yards  obliquely  to  the  right,  halted  upon  the  exact 
ground  over  which  we  fought  three  days  later.  There  we 
stacked  arms  and  remained  almost  entirely  inactive  for  forty- 
eight  hours. 

O  for  a  Grant,  Napoleon,  or  some  one,  who  appreciates 
the  value  of  time  in  an  emergency  like  the  present  I  When 
we  halted  that  day  at  Chancellorsville,  with  three  superb  army 
corps,  aggregating  almost  40,000  men  (the  Fifth  Corps  hav- 
ing come  up  by  another  road),  barely  two  brigades  of  the 
enemy,  not  over  8,000  men,  were  between  us  and  the  vicinity 
of  Fredericksburg.  An  advance  that  afternoon  would  have 
found  them  almost  without  entrenchments.  To  assert  that  we 
might  not  have  brushed  them   away  and   planted  ourselves   in 


*This  bridge  was  built  upon  the  plans  ami  under  the  supLTvision 
of  Captain  Bloss,  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  who  at  this  time  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  "  pioneers,"  a  detail  whose  duty  it  was  to  keep  in  advance  of 
the  main  column  and  "  prefiare  the  way"  for  it. 


812 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


the  open  country  above  Fredericksbur*^,  opening  direct  com- 
munication with  that  part  of  our  army  opposite  that  point,  is 
to  assert  that  we  had  in  us  none  of  the  qualities  of  good  soldiers. 
It  is  a  curious  fact,  but  before  we  had  been  at  the  point 
where  we  first  halted  a  half  hour,  a  rum  jr  was  current  among 
us  that  the  impending  battle  would  be  fought  on  that  ground. 


X    c 


<  ^ 


c^ 


It  must  have  been  a  random  guess  by  some  one,  though  correct. 
General  Hooker  had  not  then  reached  Chancellorsville  him- 
self. If  it  w^as  already  his  plan,  even  tentatively,  to  deliver 
battle  at  that  point,  he  never  admitted  it  afterwards. 


TWENTY-SEA'EXTIi     IXDIAXA.  313 

The  next  morning,  May  1st,  we  were  called  into  line  and 
Hooker's  famous  order,  having  reference  mainly  to  what  the 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Corps  had  then  accomplished,  but 
almost  boasting  in  advance  as  to  what  he  was  going  to  do, 
was  read  to  us.  Bands  played,  the  troops  cheered,  and  there 
was  enthusiasm  generally.  Of  course,  it  made  us  feel  very 
proud  to  have  our  own  little  corps  mentioned  so  flattering]}-, 
all  the  more  as  the  Twenty-seventh  had  been  so  prominently 
identified  with  its  movements.  The  shocking  blasphemy 
which  Hooker  is  said  to  have  uttered  at  this  time,  namely, 
that  even  God  Almighty  could  not  prevent  him  from  destroy- 
ing the  rebel  army,  was  not  in  general  circulation  among  the 
men. 

About  eleven  o'clock  A.  M.,  of  this  1st  of  May,  we 
marched  out  the  plank  road,  past  the  Chancellorsville  house, 
perhaps  a  mile.  There  we  deployed  into  line  of  battle  and 
moved  a  short  distance  further.  The  skirmishers  in  our  front, 
which  were  not  from  our  regiment,  became  engaged.  Con- 
siderably to  our  left  there  seemed  to  be  something  of  a  battle 
in  progress.  The  volleys  of  musketry  at  times  were  well  sus- 
tained, and  the  thunder  of  artillerv  was  severe.  We  did  not 
come  under  fire  ourselves,  except  that  a  few  wild  shells  passed 
over  our  heads.  The  timber  was  very  dense,  and  we  could 
see  little  of  what  was  going  on.  We  did  not  see  any  rebels. 
The  whole  movement  was  extremely  puzzling  to  us.  No 
other  troops,  outside  of  our  corps,  appeared  to  be  taking  part. 
We  passed  large  numbers  of  men,  both  infantry  and  artillery, 
as  we  moved  out.  They  were  not  even  under  arms,  and 
laughed  and  joked  with  us,  as  if  they  thought  we  might 
be  going  out  for  sport.  The  aspect  of  aft'aiis  strongly 
betokened  a  distressing  lack  of  energv.  The  column  moved 
slowly  like  one  does  when  there  is  some  obstruction  ahead,  as 
a  mud  hole  or  a  creek,  which  is  being  crossed  upon  a  foot-log. 
This  was  probably  caused  by  the  troops  in  front  of  us  deploy- 
ing into  position,  and  they  must  have  been  very  deliberate 
about  it. 

After  finally  halting  where  we  had  arrived  in  line  of  bat- 
tle, in  the  thick  timber,  we  remained  standing  in  position  a 
short  time,  then  turned  by  the  right  flank,  in  column  of  fours, 
moved  into  the  road,  thence  back  to  the  place  from  which  we 
had  started.  As  we  again  passed  by  the  other  troops,  which 
had  not  taken  part  in  the  movement,  the  customary  chafl'  was 


314  HISTORY    OF    THE 

exchanged  about  Richmond  being  taken,  the  war  being  over, 
etc.,  etc.  In  passing  the  Chancellorsville  house,  both  going 
and  coming,  we  saw  General    Hooker   standing  on  the  porch. 

On  what  slender  threads  great  events  do  hang !  This 
movement  which,  as  far  as  we  could  understand  at  all,  we 
decided  must  be  merely  a  feint,  or  demonstration  of  some  kind, 
while  the  real  blow  was  struck  in  some  other  quarter,  we  are 
now  told  was  made  with  the  intention  of  attacking  the  enemy 
in  force,  with  a  view'  of  clearing  the  way  to  Fredericksburg. 
We  are  told,  further, that  the  plan  was  only  abandoned  when  it 
was  ascertained  that  the  enemy  was  in  too  great  force  and  too 
strongly  entrenched. 

Once  back  in  the  woods,  where  we  had  halted  when  we 
first  arrived  on  the  field,  we  were  ordered  to  fortify  our  posi- 
tion. The  line,  which  had  been  facing  cast  up  to  this  time, 
was  now  faced  to  the  south.  Along  this  line  we  forthwith 
began  to  build  a  log  parapet  or  breastwork,  about  as  high  as 
our  shoulders,  and  to  slash  the  ti  nber  for  some  distance  in 
front  of  it.  This  is  notable  as  being  the  first  defenses  of  any 
kind  we  ever  built  on  a  battlefield.  From  this  time  on  we 
never  failed  to  build  defenses,  of  some  kind,  wherever  and 
whenever  there  was  even  a  slight  probability  of  their  being 
needed. 

We  had  progressed  well  with  our  work  of  fortifying  when 
suddenly,  beyond  the  timber  to  the  south  of  us,  a  crackling 
fire  of  musketry  broke  out,  increasing  at  once  to  a  savage 
skirmish.  The  officers  comm  inded,  "Fall  in,"  and  the  men 
instantly  dropped  their  axes  and  ran  to  their  places.  They 
were  none  too  soon,  for,  almost  before  we  had  farmed  in  front 
of  where  our  muskets  were  stacked,  orders  came  for  the 
Twenty-seventh  to  move  in  the  direction  of  the  firing.  We 
started  at  once,  by  the  flank,  double-quick,  over  our  incom- 
plete breastworks,  through  the  slashed  timber,  crossed  the 
marshy  ground  and  little  run,  passe  1  up  the  slope,  through  a 
very  thick  undergrowth,  and,  at  the  top,  came  to  a  cleared 
opening  or  farm.  The  distance  thus  passed  over  was  two  hun- 
dred yards  or  more.  Near  the  far  side  of  the  clearing,  two  or 
three  hundred  yards  further,  was  a  farm  house,  with  some  out- 
buildings. The  ground  descended  slightly  in  that  direction  to 
a  creek  at  the  further  side  of  the  clearing  and  some  distance  be- 
vond  the  house.  Beyond  the  creek  was  a  steep  wooded  bluff. 
Around  the  house,  and  between  it  and  us,  was  an  orchard. 


TWENTY -SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


315 


This  clearing  or  farm  is  the  one  known  on  the  maps  as 
Hazel  Grove  farm.  When  we  reached  this  farm  at  this  time 
the  men  engaged  in  the  skirmish  on  our  side  were  mostly  in 
sight,  scattered  about  the  farm  buildings  and  among  the  orchard 
trees,  loading  and  firing  with  evident  energy.  Colonel  Col- 
grove  continued  to  lead  the  Twenty-seventh  straight  out 
toward  the  men  thus  engaged,  still  moving  by  the  flank. 
Minie  balls  began  to  sing  around  us  plentifully,  and  there  was 


\       A-:h'':''f}'''\^^- •.]'■■[ 


:'■ 

A? 

A'V; 

1, ,,  1  '.'/■-  >, 

:■/■ 

1 '  •' 

!v 

''ft,' 

"i  ' ' 
''• ' ' 
' '  /  •, 

,"l'''c' 

'----'•.V/.V 

7V-i(:-,V,<,' 

1 

■  -.'Vat,  -;..-4  yu- 


'  I •  ''',''.•,', ,', <  1 1 ', < '.I 


every  appearance  that  we  would  immediately  be  in  battle,  but 
when  tiie  regiment  had  fairlv  cleared  the  timber  a  staff  officer 
dashed  after  us  and  brought  tlie  Colonel  an  order  to  bring  the 
regiment  back  to  the  edge  of  the  timber  behind  us,  and  form 
along  the  fence  which  we  had  crossed.*  This  mo\einent  was 
made  very  promptly  by  halting  and  changing  front  to  rear  on 


*  Some  think  our  line  was  in  front  of  the  fence.  The  fence  may  have 
curved  at  one  or  both  tlanks.  The  writer's  company,  near  the  center 
was  behind  the  fence. 


816  HISTORY    OF    THE 

tenth  company.  Being  under  such  a  hot  fire,  the  over-shots 
aimed  at  our  skirmishers,  there  was  no  dehiy  in  obeying  tlie 
order. 

Just  as  we  were  taking  position  along  the  fence,  with 
quite  a  little  flurry,  an  incident  transpired  which  all  who  were 
there  will  remember.  A  musket  shot  in  our  own  ranks  rang 
out  startlingly  clear  and  distinct,  followed  by  the  moaning  of 
one  hurt.  A  member  of  one  of  our  companies  had  shot  his 
own  finger  ofl\  accidentally  as  he  claimed  ;  but  some  near  him 
always  believed  he  had  done  it  on  purpose.  As  it  was  his 
right  forefinger,  the  case  did  have  a  suspicious  look. 

Our  line  had  barely  been  established  at  the"  fence  when  a 
rebel  battery  opened  upon  us  from  the  wooded  blufT,  south  of 
the  creek.  We  were  too  near  the  battery  to  be  in  much  dan- 
ger from  shells,  unless  they  hit  some  one  outright.  Those 
fired  were  well  aimed,  however,  and  passing  uncomfortably 
near  us,  did  considerable  damage  by  exploding  among  the 
troops  in  our  rear.  After  firing  shells  for  a  while,  canister 
was  tried.  This  did  not  continue  long.  Only  a  few  of  those 
iron  balls,  about  the  size  of  a  hulled  walnut,  had  come  bound- 
ing toward  us,  tearing  up  the  ground  and  glancing  here  and 
there,  when  our  special  favorites,  Battery  M,  First  New  York 
Artillerv,  began  firing  with  tremendous  energy  immediately 
at  our  left.  With  their  usual  celerity  they  had  galloped  into 
position,  without  all  of  us  hearing  them.  After  that  the  rebel 
battery  had  enough  to  do  without  pestering  the  Twenty- 
seventh. 

One  of  the  first  shots  from  Battery  IM  exploded  an  ammu- 
nition chest  in  the  rebel  battery.  In  the  light  of  the  explosion 
we  plainly  saw  a  poor  rebel  thrown  into  the  air,  twenty-five 
feet  or  more.  Not  many  shots  were  fired  by  the  rebels  after 
the  explosion.  Their  infantry  had,  in  the  meantime,  with- 
drawn also,  and  quiet  soon  brooded  over  the  scene.  As  the 
fire  of  our  b.ittery  slackened,  we  could  distinctly  hear  the 
screams  of  the  rebel  wounded. 

It  has  developed  since  that  this  attack  on  our  pickets  was 
made  by  Wright's  brigade,  of  Anderson's  rebel  division.  This 
brigade  had  been  in  our  front  while  we  were  out  on  the  plank 
road,  as  narrated  above.  About  the  time  we  withdrew  from 
that  position  ourselves,  they  had  moved  around  also,  under 
orders  to  feel  of  the  Union  line  at  this  point.  Their  alert 
scouts  may  have  carried  the  information  to  the  proper  author- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  317 

ities  that  the  Twelfth  Corps  had  moved  away  from  here, 
leaving  the  point  exposed,  but  had  not  been  quite  prompt 
enough  in  reporting  our  return.  It  is  amusing,  from  our 
standpoint,  to  read  Wright's  report  of  the  affair.  Among 
other  ludicrous  things,  he  sa3s,  in  substance,  that  nothing 
but  the  approach  of  darkness  prevented  him  from  capturing 
our  battery.  Fifteen  thousand  of  the  best  troops  in  the  rebel 
army  could  not  have  taken  Battery  M.  It  was  supported  by 
the  Twelfth  Army  Corps,  and  nobody  ever  captured  as  much 
as  one  cannon  from  it. 

The  Twenty-seventh  did  not  return  to  the  work  of  slash- 
ing timber  and  building  breastworks,  but  remained  where  it 
was,  through  the  night.  Orders  were  very  strict  that  no  one 
should  leave  his  place  in  the  ranks  or,  on  any  account,  go  to 
sleep.  The  situation  as  night  came  on  did  look  threatening, 
though  we  had  learned,  as  all  soldiers  did,  to  obey  such  orders 
in  the  spirit,  rather  than  in  the  letter.  We  were  careful  to 
remain  somewhere  near  our  places,  and,  if  we  went  to  sleep, 
it  would  not  be  such  a  profound  slumber  that  we  would  not 
be  ready  for  any  emergency. 

Later  in  the  evening  an  event  occurred  which  showed 
that,  asleep  or  awake,  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were 
capable  of  acting  prudently.  Unobserved  by  us,  Birney's 
division,  of  the  Third  Corps,  had  come  up  on  our  right.  They 
were  not  fuUv  advised  as  to  our  position,  as  we  were  not  of 
theirs.  In  posting  their  pickets,  therefore,  they  got  squarely 
in  front  of  our  line.  At  a  time  when  we  were  very  much 
exercised,  with  every  nerve  at  its  utmost  tension,  not  knowing 
when  the  enemy  might  appear,  suddenly  the  forms  of  these 
men,  perhaps  twenty  or  more  of  them,  came  into  view,  sil- 
houetted against  the  lighter  background  of  the  horizon. 
Nothing  but  the  impulse  to  take  a  second  thought,  so  as  to 
make  sure  of  our  aim,  as  well  as  to  make  sure  of  doing  the 
right  thing  in  other  respects,  kept  us  from  firing  upon  theni 
instantly.  That  fortunate  second  thought  enabled  the  most 
observing  among  us  to  recognize  that,  for  one  thing,  the  men 
were  not  advancing  toward  us.  This  removed  the  necessity 
for  great  haste  and  gave  opportunity  for  formal  challenge  and 
reply.  This  developed  the  fact  that  the  supposed  enemies  were 
not  only  our  soldiers,  but  that  they  belonged  to  the  Twentieth 
Indiana  regiment.  We  shuddered  at  the  narrow  margin  by 
which  a  serious  mishap  had  been  averted.      Every  man  of  us 


318  HISTORY    OF    THE 

had  stood  with  his  musket  cocked  and  aimed,  and  with  his 
finger  upon  the  trigger.  At  a  most  critical  moment  a  soldier 
near  the  writer  shouted  sharply,  '"Shoot,  damn  'em,  they're 
rebels!""      Most  fortunately,  no  one  shot. 

This  was  the  only  time  that  these  two  Indiana  regiments, 
containing  a  goodly  number  of  neighbors  and  ultimate  friends, 
ever  found  themselves  so  near  together,  and  it  was  the  only  time 
during  our  service  that  another  Hoosier  regiment  was  aligned 
with  ours.  When  we  came  to  investigate,  the  Twentieth 
practically  joined  the  Twenty-seventh  on  the  right,  only  a 
small  space  separating  the  two. 

No  other  incident  is  remembered  as  occurring  during 
the  night.  The  next  da}',  May  2nd,  dawned  clear  and  beau- 
tiful. No  signs  of  an  enemy  were  visible.  The  night  before, 
however,  soon  after  all  had  become  still,  and  we  were  de- 
bating in  our  minds  whether  to  keep  awake  or  run  all  risks 
and  go  to  sleep,  not  much  over  a  mile  from  us,  the  two  rebel 
leaders,  Lee  and  Jackson,  sitting  upon  two  cracker  boxes, 
had  consulted  and  agreed  upon  a  plan  which  would  greatly 
aftect  our  surroundings  before  night.  This  plan  was  that  Jack- 
son should,  this  morning,  take  twenty-five  thousand  men, 
march  entirely  around  the  right  wing  of  our  army,  and  strike 
it  a  hard  blow  from  the  flank  and  rear. 

It  was  designed,  of  course,  that  this  movement  should  be 
entirely  concealed  from  our  authorities.  But  Providence  was 
on  our  side,  and  our  people  were  to  have  abundant  warning,  if 
wise  enough  to  heed  it.  Even  before  we  had  finished  our 
modest  breakfasts,  it  was  discovered  that  a  column  of  the 
enemy  was  crossing  an  opening,  a  little  over  a  mile  from  us. 
With  the  naked  eye  we  could  see  the  glint  of  their  gunbarrels 
and  the  white  covers  of  their  wagons.  The  opening  was 
slightly  to  our  left,  but  the  direction  of  the  movement  was 
plainly  toward  our  right. 

A  section  of  artillery  was  brought  immediately  in  front 
of  the  Twenty-seventh  and  began  firing  upon  the  moving 
rebel  column.  The  shells  went  swishing  towards  them,  and 
we  could  see  some  of  them  explode  in  their  midst.  There 
would  be  a  temporary  break  in  the  column,  as  though  it  had 
stopped,  or  was  going  by  some  other  route.  Sometimes  the 
men  and  teams  would  go  on  the  run,  while  passing  the  open- 
ing. That  was  all.  Shortly,  the  column  would  be  moving  as 
before. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  319 

As  usual,  it  was  not  long  until  different  rumors  were  in 
circulation,  concerning  this  rebel  movement.  Prominent 
among  them  was  the  one  which,  unfortunately,  seems  to  have 
had  the  preference  with  the  commanding  general.  This  was 
that  the  enemy  was  retreating.  Right  then  and  there,  we 
heard  of  the  dispatch,  sent  by  Hooker  to  Sedge  wick,  having 
this   import. 

The  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  put  in  most  of  the  fore- 
noon building  a  line  of  breastworks  at  this  point,  where  we 
had  come  so  hastily.  Some  of  them  had,  in  fact,  begun  the 
work  in  the  night  or  early  morning.  To  the  rails  furnished 
by  the  old  fence,  poles,  logs  and  such  other  materials  as  were 
available  were  added,  until  it  all  constituted  something 
rather  formidable. 

About  noon  Birney's  division  was  ordered  to  make  a 
reconnoissance  in  force,  out  in  the  direction  where  the  mov- 
ing rebel  column  could  be  seen.  In  going  out  it  passed  across 
the  front  of  our  position.  The  Twentieth  Indiana  was  in  the 
lead.  The  company  containing  some  of  the  writer's  boyhood 
chums  was  on  the  skirmish  line.  With  breathless  interest  we 
watched  them  as  they  moved  down  the  cleared  slope,  crossed 
the  creek  and  disappeared  in  the  thick  brush  of  the  blufT 
beyond.  They  were  not  fired  upon  until  about  the  time  they 
passed  out  of  sight.  From  that  time  on  skirmishing  was 
active.  We  remained  deeply  interested  spectators,  or  at  least 
listeners,  while  Birney's  men  were  pushing  farther  and  farther 
out,  until  orders  came  for  us  to  move  also. 

It  must  have  been  nearly  or  quite  8  :  00  P.  M.  when  our 
division  began  moving,  to  the  left  of  the  direction  taken  bv 
Birney.  This  was  almost  directly  to  the  left  of  where  we  then 
were.  The  deployment  of  the  division  was  slow.  When  com- 
pleted we  advanced  in  line  of  battle  very  cautiously.  We 
soon  found  ourselves  immersed  in  a  growth  of  bushes  and 
vines  almost  impenetrable.  With  frequent  halts  and  patient 
readjustments,  it  was  impossible  to  preserve  an  alignment  or 
keep  the  direction,  as  it  was  almost  so  to  make  any  headway. 
We  must  have  worked  our  way  about  a  half  a  mile  into 
this  jungle.  Our  skirmishers  were  in  unusually  close  contact 
with  those  of  the  enemy.  Musket  balls  were  singing  over  our 
heads  and  zipping  among  the  limbs.  It  looked  as  though  we 
might  be  again  on  the  point  of  a  bloody  engagement  ourselves. 
Those    in    the    main    line    could   see   no  enemv. 


320  HISTORY    OF    THE 

All  at  once,  almost  wholly  unannounced  by  any  picket 
tiring,  a  furious,  raging  battle  broke  out  directly  behind  us. 
We  now  know  that  it  was  a  mile  or  more  away,  but  it  did 
not  then  seem  so  far.  Not  only  the  musketry  tiring,  but  the 
yelling  and  cheering,  were  borne  to  us  with  vivid  distinctness. 
Presentlv  there  was  a  cessation  in  the  firing  and  other  sounds, 
to  be  renewed  very  soon,  if  possible,  more  desperate  as  well 
as  more  prolonged,  than  before. 

For  awhile  we  supposed  this  fire  in  the  rear  was  something 
duly  provided  for.  Then  we  began  to  have  unpleasant  mis- 
givings, because  it  was  evident  that  the  reports  of  the  guns 
and  all  the  accompanying  noises  were  becoming  more  and 
more  distinct,  as  if  our  side  might  be  giving  ground.  Our  mis- 
givings were  increased,  if  not  conliimed,  when  we  received 
an  order  to  about-face  and  move  back.  After  receiving  this 
order  all  previous  caution  as  to  forms  was  abandoned.  S  mply 
doing  the  best  we  could  to  keep  our  regimental  front  in  fair 
alignment  we  moved  back  briskly,  straight  toward  the  firing. 

In  this  retrograde  movement  the  Twenty-seventh  reached 
the  cleared  ground  northward  of  where  it  had  left  it.  The 
impression  of  the  writer  has  always  been  that  our's  was  the 
first  regiment  of  William's  division  to  debouch  from  the  woods. 
At  least  it  was  quite  a  few  minutes  before  we  heard  or  saw 
anything  of  the  other  regiments  of  our  brigade. 

As  we  emerged  from  the  thick  bushes,  what  a  sight 
awaited  us  I  It  simply  beggars  all  discription,  and  the  writer 
will  not  attempt  one.  vSufiice  it  to  say,  that  the  unfortunate 
stampede  of  the  Eleventh  Corps,  caused  by  the  attack  of 
Jackson,  mentioned  above,  was  now  before  us.  The  clearing 
just  that  the  point  was  not  wide.  Out  of  the  timber,  opposite 
us,  a  confused,  mob-like  mass  of  men  was  pouring,  and  it  bore 
down  upon  us.  In  it  were  soldiers  of  all  ranks,  of  all  branches 
of  the  service  and  of  many  commands.  They  were  entirely 
without  order,  did  not  know  where  they  were  going  and  did 
not  seem  to  care  for  anything,  only  to  get  farther  away  from 
danger.  Utterly  deaf,  alike  to  commands  or  appeals,  wholly 
oblivious  to  all  sense  of  either  honor  or  shame,  '•  aghast  and 
terror  stricken,  heads  bare  and  panting  for  breath,"  ranting, 
screaming, blaspheming,  many  of  them  bawling  like  babies, they 
were,  for  the  time  being,  a  vast  horde  of  galloping  idiots. 

It  was  a  supreme  moment  for  the  Twenty-seventh. 
Would  it  be  overwhelmned  and   carried   away  by  the   awful 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


321 


tide,    as    some   good   regiments    doubtless   were?      How  could 
so  few  stand  alone,  among  so  many? 

But  Colonel  Colgrove  was  a  man  for  an  emergency  like  this. 
Without  a  momentis  hesitation  he  did  two  things  which,  of 
all  others,  were  the  right  ones  to  do.  With  tremendous  reso- 
lution and  firmness  he  forbade  any  of  the  fugitives   from  pass- 


ing through  our  ranks;  and,  at  the   same   time,  called    for    the 

guides,  upon    which   to  dress    our   line.      These    two   masterly 

provisions  not  only   preserved   our   ranks    unbroken,  bringing 

the  company  commanders  to  the  front  to  assist  in  doino-  it    but 
21  ^ 


322  HISTORY    OF    THE 

also  gave  the  men  something  to  do  and  think  about.  This 
was  in  connection,  of  course,  with  the  Colonel's  exertions  men- 
tioned by  Comrade  Bresnahan.  lie  says,  "Colonel  Colgrove 
was  equal  to  the  emergency.  He  stood  in  his  saddle-stirrups 
and  shouted,  in  a  voice  as  loud  as  a  steam  whistle,  "  Steady 
John!  Whoa,  boys.  Steady,  boys!  Whoa,  John.'  The  Colo- 
nel's horse  was  named  John,  but  he  and  the  '  boys  '  under- 
stood  the  commands  all  right,  and  acted  accordingly." 

The  efforts  and  example  of  the  other  otiicers  of  the  regi- 
ment, each  in  his  sphere,  was  equally  consp'cuous  for  prudence 
and  courage.  The  Twenty-seventhr  as  a  whole,  was  simply 
perfect  in  its  self-control  and  discipline.  There  was  glory 
enough  for  all.  Not  a  soldier  in  the  regiment  wavered.  Not 
one  flinched!  In  themidst  of  that  cyclone  of  panic,  rout  and 
terror,  the  markers  took  the  positions  indicated,  the  first  ser- 
geants aligned  upon  them,  and,  one,  by  one  the  companies 
moved  up  and  dressed  as  usual.  It  was  like  clock  work.  And, 
being  thus  formed,  the  line  stood,  unmoved  and  unmovable, 
through  it  all ! 

Before  the  stampeded  forces  in  front  had  been  entirely 
turned  asside,  a  more  appalling  danger  of  a  similar  nature 
threatened  us  for  a  while.  A  battery  or  two  of  artillery,  and 
perhaps  a  squadron  of  cavalry,  had  been  massed  and  were 
standing  at  attention,  on  a  rise  of  ground  to  our  left  and  front. 
At  a  certain  juncture,  without  any  previous  signs  of  uneasi- 
ness, the  whole  force  broke  apart  and  started  down  the  hill, 
directly  toward  us,  like  a  huge  avalanche.  The  prospect  was 
very  threatening  for  a  moment.  Men  can  hope  to  defend 
themselves  against  other  men,  but  they  have  a  poor  chance 
against  maddened  horses,  hooked  up  to  cannon  and  battery 
wagons.  Fortunately  there  was  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  a  creek 
or  gully  which  saved  us.  While  we  were  debating  in  our 
minds  how  best  to  parry  the  alarming  blow  we  saw  that  it 
could  not  reach  us.  Some  of  the  leading  horses  plunged  head- 
long into  the  depression,  and  others  rolled  over  upon  them, 
while  still  others  wheeled  to  the  right  or  left  and  disappeared. 
The  battery  wreckage  which  Colonel  Colgrove  speaks  of  in 
his  report,  doubtless  came  from   this  source.. 

The  Twenty-seventh  had  struck  the  clearing  slightly  north 
of  where  the  fields  of  the  Fairview  farm  corner  with  those  of 
the  Hazelgrove  farm.  When  the  men  of  the  Eleventh  Corps 
had    mostly    passed    by,   we    moved   across    the   clearing   and 


TWENTY-SEVEXTH    INDIANA.  323 

formed  along  the  run,  which  crosses  the  road  west  of  Chan- 
cellorsville  and  courses  along  the  western  edge  of  Fairview. 
It  was  sundown,  or  after,  when  we  came  out  of  the  timber 
and  saw  the  disaster  that  had  befallen  our  right  wing.  It  was 
growing  dark  before  the  remnants  had  entirely  passed  us. 
Momentarily  we  expected  the  enemy  to  appear.  This  he  did 
not  do  in  force,  though  small  parties  of  scouts  or  skirmishers 
came  in  view  more  than  once.  Each  time  a  few  shots  from 
our  side  sent  them  scampering  away. 

About  the  time  we  moved  across  the  clearing  and  formed 
along  the  little  run,  the  memorable  work  of  the  Union  artillery 
in  stopping  Jackson's  assault  was  begun.  Just  before  it 
opened,  and  while  some  fragments  of  the  stampeded  corps 
were  still  passing,  General  Sickles  rode  up  to  the  Twenty- 
seventh  and  inquired  for  the  commanding  officer.  Finding 
Colonel  Colgrove,  he  complimented  him  and  his  men  very 
highly,  but  not  by  the  use  of  the  Doxology  in  long  metre. 
Rising  in  his  saddle-stirrups  he  said,  "  Colonel,  you  have  the 
blankest,  blankety  blank  regiment,  by  blank,  that  I  ever  saw 
or  expect  to  see,  etc. ,  etc."  He  then  explained  that  the 
artillery  of  his  corps  was  massed  on  the  heights  of  Hazelgrove 
farm,  and  was  about  to  open  on  the  enemy;  that  their  posi- 
tion, being  on  our  left,  if  we  did  not  hold  the  ground  we 
occupied,  his  guns  could  not  remain  where  they  were  and 
would  likely  be  captured,  as  his  infantry  had  not  yet  been 
posted  to  support  them.  The  Colonel  assured  him,  also  bv 
a  liberal  use  of  blanks,  that  we  would  hold  our  position, 
and  that  he  could  depend  upon  it.  The  boys  confirmed  the 
assurances  of  the   Colonel,  of  course,  by  the  usual  cheering. 

The  cannonading,  when  it  was  going  at  full  tide,  was  as 
heavy  and  asdreadful  in  every  way  as  any  we  ever  heard.  There 
were  not  as  many  guns  in  action  as  at  Gettysburg,  two  months 
later,  but,  in  the  atmospheric  conditions  peculiar  to  that  May 
evening,  with  all  the  shot  hurled  into  thick  timber,  only  a  few 
rods  distant,  and  the  shells  cut  with  short  fuses,  a  thousand 
harrowing,  terrifying  noises  were  multiplied  and  reechoed, 
over  and  over  again.  The  Twenty-seventh  was  also  between 
the  two  groups  of  batteries,  quite  near  to  and  rather  in  front 
of  both.  On  the  heights  of  Fairview,  and  between  that  and 
the  road,  were  almost  fifty  pieces,  mostly  belonging  to  our 
corps.  They  fired  directly  over  our  heads  or  slightly  to  our 
right.      At    Hazelgrove    were    nearly    as    many   more    pieces, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  325 

which  were  delivering  their  fire  diagonally  across  our  front, 
or  a  little  to  our  left.  So  we  got  the  full  benefit  of  the  un- 
earthly, indescribable  roar  and  commotion  of  the  seventv  or 
eighty  cannon,  all  operated  to  their  utmost  capacity,  pouring 
canister,  shell  and  solid  shot  into  those  doomed  woods,  for 
almost  an  hour. 

All  in  all,  this  was  a  day  and  evening  pregnant  v/ith 
events.  We  could  not  feel  sure  at  any  time  that  we  were  not 
on  the  verge  of  a  nasty  battle.  Everything  around  us  to-night 
was  in  a  condition  of  greater  or  less  uncertainty  and  confusion. 
There  was  a  constant  effort  observable  everywhere  to  readjust 
matters,  as  well  as  an  unusual  determination  on  the  part  of 
all  that,  come  what  might,  the  rebel  host  should  not  break 
through  the  Union  line  at  that  point. 

It  is  due,  however,  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Eleventh  Corps 
to  say  that  all  of  them  were  not  seized  with  panic.  Many  of 
us  well  remember  the  line  officer,  referred  to  by  Colonel  Col- 
grove  in  his  report,  who  joined  the  Twenty-seventh  with 
nearly  200  men,  and  remained  with  us  through  a  part  of  the 
battle,  the  following  day.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  his  name 
was  not  taken  down.  The  Colonel  gives  his  regiment  as  the 
One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Pennsylvania,  which  is  probably  an 
error,  as  that  regiment  did  not  belong  to  the  Eleventh  Corps. 
There  were  other  officers  also,  with  a  less  number  of  men. 
who  came  and  begged  the  privilege  of  remaining  with  us, 
that  they  might  have  an  opportunity  of  demonstrating  that 
they  were  ready  to  do  their  duty.  Many  individual  enlisted 
men  likewise  preferred  the  same  request.  Most  of  these  left 
us  during  the  night,  after  matters  had  quieted  down,  to  rejoin 
their  commands,  some  of  them  taking  certificates  from  our 
officers,  showing  where  they  had  been. 

It  was  amusing  at  the  time,  and  furnished  one  of  the 
staple  sources  of  fun  in  the  regiment,  for  the  remainder  of  our 
service,  to  note,  in  the  Colonel's  replies  to  the  numerous  in- 
quires, how  fast  his  command  was  increasing,  as  the  result  of 
others  joining  us.  Owing  to  the  confusion  and  darkness, 
many  staf^'  officers  and  oiderlies,  in  hunting  for  various  com- 
mands and  endeavoring  to  find  how  matters  stood,  were 
obliged  to  ask  what  troops  occupied  the  position  we  held,  and 
how  many  there  were  of  us.  To  the  question,  "  Who  is  in 
command  here.'"'  the  Colonel's  invariable  reply  was,"  I  am. 
by  blank."     To  the  question,  "How   many    men    have  you:" 


826  HISTORY    OF    THE 

his  reply  at  first  was,  "  One  regiment."  But  he  began  modi- 
fying this  reply  when  his  command  began  to  increase.  When 
he  finally  picked  up  two  pieces  of  artillery,  or  "  Captured  a 
battery,"  as  the  boys  always  expressed  it,  he  uniformly 
answered,  "  Two  regiments  of  infantry  and  a  battery  of 
artillery." 

The  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  remeniber  well  the  night 
attack  made  upon  the  rebels,  by  men  from  the  Third  Corps. 
There  was  considerable  claimed  for  this  at  the  time,  and  some- 
thing is  still  said  about  it.  Those  of  us  who  had  the  best 
opportunity  of  observing  it  do  not  believe  it  accomplished 
anything  permanent,  beyond  the  recovery  of  a  small  amount 
of  arms  and  equipments,  abandoned  by  our  soldiers  in  their 
hast}^  withdrawal,  and  the  waking  up  of  both  armies.  This 
last  it  did  very  effectually. 

The    deployed   column,    or     heavy    skirmish    line,    which 
made  the  attack,  started  forward,  not  five  rods  in  front  of  our 
position.       It  came    from    some    point  south  of  us,   probably 
at  or  near  Hazelgrove   farm.       Marching  by    the  flank,   par- 
allel  with  our  line,  until  it  arrived  squarely  in    front  of  where 
we  were,  at  the  command,  it  faced  left,  towards  the   enemy, 
and  moved  straight  in   that  direction.      The  writer   was    wide 
awake  at  the    time  and    remembers    the    affair    distinctly,   in 
many  of  its  details.      General  Williams  complains  that  he  had 
not  been  notified  of  the  proposed  attack,  but  the   men  of  the 
Twenty-seventh    were    duly   notified.     We  had  been    doubly 
cautioned,  lest  we  might  fire  into  those  engaged  in  the  attack 
on    our  side.       The    night  was  not  very  dark,  though  a  little 
fogSy-     We  could  see  the    men    for  a  considerable  distance, 
after   they  started    forward,  and    could  hear   everything  thev 
said  or  did.      The  attack    could   not   have  been  any  suprise  to 
the  enemy.      It  seemed  to  us  to  be  unnecessarily  noisy.     The 
commands  of  the  officer  in  charge  could  easily  be  heard  a  mile. 
After  facing  toward  the  enemy  the   line  advanced  only  a 
short  distance  before  it  was  fired  upon,  and  forthwith  pande- 
monium was  unloosed.     A  letter  written  by  General  Williams 
a  few  days  after  the  occurrence  has  been  preserved,  and  gives 
a   very   accurate  and   spirited   pen-picture  of  the   affair,  as  it 
appeared  to  us,  as  well  as    others  of  our  division.     He  says: 
"A   tremendous   roll  of  infantry  fire,  mingled    with   yellings 
and  shoutings,  almost  diabolical  and  infernal,  opened  the  con- 
flict on  the  part  of  Sickles'  division.      For  some  time  my  infan- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  327 

try  and  artillery  kept  silent,  and  in  the  intervals  of  the  mus- 
ketry I  could  distinctly  hear  the  oaths  and  imprecations  of  the 
rebel  officers,  evidently  having  hard  work  to  keep  their  men 
from  stampeding.  In  the  meantime  Sickles'  artillery  opened, 
firing  over  the  heads  of  the  infantry,  and  the  din  of  arms  and 
the  inhuman  yellings  and  cursings  redoubled.  All  at  once 
Berry's  division,  across  the  road  on  our  right,  opened  in  heavy 
volleys,  and  Knipe  (commanding  my  right  brigade,  next  to 
the  road  on  the  south)  followed  suit.  Best  (Williams'  chief 
of  artillery)  began  to  thunder  with  his  thirty  odd  pieces.  In 
front  and  on  the  flank  shell  and  shot  and  bullets  were  poured 
into  these  woods,  which  were  evidently  crowded  with  rebel 
masses,  preparing  for  the  morning  attack.  I  can  conceive  of 
no  spectacle  more  magnificently,  and  indeed  awfully,  grand 
and  sublime  than  this  night  attack.  Along  our  front  and 
Sickles'  flank  probably  15,000  or  more  musketry  were  belching 
an  almost  incessant  stream  of  flame,  while  from  the  elevations 
just  in  the  rear  of  each  line  from  forty  to  fifty  pieces  of  artil- 
lery kept  up  an  uninterrupted  roar,  re-echoed  from  the  woods 
with  redoubled  echo  from  the  bursting  shells,  which  seemed 
to  fill  every  part  of  them  with  fire  and  fury.  Human  language 
can  give  no  idea  of  such  a  scene — such  an  infernal  and  yet 
sublime  combination  of  sound  and  flame  and  smoke,  and 
dreadful  yells  of  rage,  of  pain,  of  triumph,  or  of  defiance. 
Suddenly,  almost  on  the  instant,  the  tumult  is  hushed.  Hardly 
a  voice  can  be  heard.  One  would  almost  suppose  that  the 
combatants  were  holding  breath  to  listen  for  one  another's 
movements.     But  the  contest  was  not  renewed." 

Some  accounts  of  this  attack  represent  that  the  men  on 
our  side  went  in  with  their  muskets  uncapped,  and  did  their 
work  wholly  with  the  bayonet.  Whether  such  statements 
sound  well  or  not,  they  do  not  accord  with  the  facts. 
The  men  behaved  most  creditably  in  all  respects,  as  far  as  we 
were  able  to  judge,  but  they  did  not  do  their  work  wholly 
with  the  beyonet. 

There  are  instances  also,  where  accounts  confuse  this 
night  attack  with  the  tremendous  cannonading  previously 
mentioned  here,  accompanied  with  some  severe  musketry  fir- 
ing, by  which  the  rebel  column,  which  had  stampeded  the 
Eleventh  Corps,  was  brought  to  a  halt,  and,  in  connection 
with  which  Stonewall  Jackson  received  his  mortal  wound. 
These    two    phases    of    the  clash  of   arms  at  Chancellorsville, 


328  HISTORY    OF    THE 

though  resembling  each  other  in  some  of  their  features,  most 
prominently,  perhaps,  in  the  part  which  our  batteries  took  in 
both,  were  separate  and  distinct.  The  assault  led  by  Jackson 
was  brought  to  a  standstill  shortly  after  dark.  Our  batteries 
opened  just  as  soon  as  they  dared  without  danger  to  our  own 
stampeded  troops.  The  night  attack  occurred  later.  It  must 
have  been  nearly  or  quite  midnight  when  it  took  place. 

If,  as  is  claimed,  the  line  making  this  night  attack 
advanced  to  the  abandoned  breastworks,  built  a  day  or  two 
previously  by  Williams'  division,  and  which,  after  running 
south,  perpendicular  to  the  plank  road,  for  some  distance, 
curved  back  toward  Hazelgrove  farm,  it  was  very  unfortunate 
that  they  were  not  lield.  That  is  where  our  division  line  of 
battle  should  have  been,  on  the  morning  of  May  8d.  As  it 
was,  no  ground  was  permanently  gained  by  the  night  attack. 
The  troops  making  it  were  soon  withdrawn  from  in  front  of 
us,  leaving  us  to  form  the  front  line,  and  we  remained  exactly 
where  we  stood  before  the  attack  was  made. 

This  must  have  been  a  busy  and  trying  time  for  the 
higher  officers.  They  seemed  to  be  engaged  the  livelong 
night,  in  zealous  efforts  to  obtain  an  understanding  of  the 
situation,  which  had  been  so  materially  changed  about  dark, 
and  in  making  preparations  for  the  fateful  morning  which  was 
so  swiftly  approaching.  The  men  in  the  ranks  had  little 
sleep.  Squatting  in  our  places,  with  our  guns  in  our  hands, 
we  barely  lost  consciousness  for  brief  intervals.  Picket  firing 
and  discharges  of  artillery  were  frequent  throughout  the 
night.  The  whippoorwills  made  the  air  resonant  with  their 
plaintive  calls,  other  wild  birds  occasionally  contributing  a 
sharp,  startling  note. 

In  the  night,  or  early  in  the  morning,  our  line  moved  for- 
ward a  few  rods,  crossing  to  the  west  bank  of  the  run  which, 
as  stated  before,  borders  the  clearing  known  as  Fairview  on 
the  west.  This  higher  ground,  in  the  angle  between  this  run 
and  the  other  one  of  similar  size,  which  comes  from  the  west 
and  unites  with  this  near  by,  is  scarcely  a  '■  knoll,"  though  it 
is  referred  to  in  many  reports  as  such.  It  is  only  slightly 
higher  than  the  ground  immediately  around  it.  Here,  in  a 
space  of  two  or  three  acres,  the  Twenty-seventh  was  to  engage 
the  enemy,  for  not  less  than  four  hours,  almost  continuously, 
in  a  determined  and  bloody  encounter. 

At  first  the  Twenty-seventh  faced   both    south    and  west, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  420 

though  possibly  the  hirger  part  faced  south.  That  portion  of 
the  regiment  facing  south  was  behind  the  line  of  log  breast- 
works or  parapet,  partly  built  by  the  regiment  two  days  be- 
fore, and  afterward  finished  by  others.  The  men  facing  west 
had  no  defenses  in  front  of  them.  The  line  upon  which  they 
were  formed  was  continued  on  northward,  by  the  Second 
Massachusetts  and  Third  Wisconsin,  of  our  brigade,  and  the 
regiments  of  the  First  Brigade,  of  our  division. 

The  sloping  ground  between  this  position  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  and  Hazelgrove  farm,  to  the  southward,  was  covered 
at  this  time  with  a  very  dense  growth  of  small  trees  and 
bushes.  It  was  impossible  to  see  into  them,  even  a  short  dis- 
tance. To  the  westward,  however,  in  the  direction  towards 
which  most  of  the  brigade  faced,  and  towards  which  the  whole 
of  our  own  regiment  was  soon  to  face,  the  ground,  for  two  or 
three  hundred  yards,  and  perhaps  more,  was  what  used  to  be 
called  in  Indiana,  an  "  oak  opening."  It  was  rather  level  and 
covered  with  small,  close-barked  white  oak  trees,  with  very 
little  underbrush.  In  many  places,  by  stooping  down  a  little, 
to  get  below  the  limbs  of  the  timber  that  stood  in  the  lower 
places,  one  could  see  through  a  vista  of  trees  for  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  or  more. 

There  was  a  slight  fog  when  the  morning  of  May  3d 
finally  dawned.  This  delayed  movements  somewhat,  but  it 
was  still  early  when  the  enemy's  skirmishers  began  to  press 
forward.  They  kept  mostly  under  cover  for  a  while,  though 
aggressively  working  their  way  close  up  to  our  position.  The 
timber  favored  them  in  this,  and  many  minie  balls  whistled 
and  sang  around  us,  or  struck  something  or  somebody  with  a 
zip,  when  we  could  see  no  enemy. 

The  first  attack  in  force,  in  our  vicinity,  was  at  Hazel- 
grove  farm,  soon  after  sunrise.  It  seems  that  a  Union  brigade 
was  left  there  as  a  sort  of  decoy,  as  was  said  at  the  time,  and 
was  to  be  withdrawn  if  attacked.  It  was  a  high  compliment 
to  the  men  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  that  they  should  be  trusted 
to  stand  in  a  second  emergency  of  this  nature.  The  matter 
was  not  explained  to  us  beforehand  and  was  not  encouraging 
after  our  experience  of  the  evening  before.  The  timber  be- 
tween our  position  and  Hazelgrove  preventing  us  from  seeing 
anything  of  the  combat.  After  a  brief  firing  of  musketry, 
which  we  could  hear  distinctly,  our  troops  fell  back.  The 
larger  part  passed  around  to  our  left,  some    distance    from  us. 


830  HISTORY    OF    THE 

A  regiment  or  two,  however  came,  pellmell  through  the  bushes, 
and  passed  through  our  ranks.  They  were  not  panic  stricken 
or  demoralized,  as  those  of  the  day  previous,  yet  in  little  if 
any  better  order.  Part  of  them  were  zouaves,  having  baggy 
red  pants,  and  phez  caps,  with  long  tassels. 

Barely  an  instant  after  these  retreating  troops  had  gone 
to  the  rear,  a  column  of  the  enemy  swept  grandly  around  the 
point  of  timber  to  our  left  and  front.  Two  lines  deep,  in 
splendid  order,  they  moved  down  the  slope  on  quick  time. 
Their  line  of  direction  carried  them  slightly  to  our  left.  The 
first  fire  of  the  Twenty-seventh  was  delivered  almost  as  a 
solid  volley.  Before  we  had  fired  more  than  twice  each,  our 
forces  farther  to  the  left  opened  also.  This  combined  fire  was 
too  deadly  for  mortal  man  to  withstand.  It  could  not  have 
been  more  than  ten  minutes,  and  did  not  seem  that  long, 
before  ever}'  standing  rebel  had  vanished.  But  the  sloping 
hillside  had  the  appearance  of  having  had  many  wagon  loads 
of  rusty,  grey  rags  brought  and  dumped  upon  it  in  heaps. 
These  were  the  helpless  forms  of  the  killec.  and  wounded 
left  behind. 

This  attack  was  by  Archer's  brigade,  the  same  that  had 
punished  us  severely  at  Cedar  Mountain.  We  had  at  last 
got  our  revenge  in  good  measure.  General  Archer,  after  de- 
scribing, in  his  report,  his  attack  upon  our  troops  which  were 
withdrawn,  as  noted  above,  continues:  "After  a  few 
moments'  halt,  to  reform  our  line, which  had  become  somewhat 
broken  by  its  rapid  advance  through  the  wood,  I  proceeded  to 
attack  the  wood  which  I  have  mentioned  as  lying  diagonally 
to  the  front  and  right.  My  brigade,  which  was  at  the  begin- 
ing  only  fourteen  hundred  strong,  and  entirely  unsupported, 
attacked  with  great  intrepidity ;  but  the  position  was  strongly 
entrenched,  and  manned  by  vastly  greater  numbers,  and  we 
were  forced  to  retire  from  within  seventy  yards  of  the  en- 
trenchments. We  again  formed  and  advanced  to  the  attack, 
and  were  again  forced  to  retire." 

The  troops  to  the  left  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  which 
assisted  in  the  repulse  of  Archer,  were  the  Twentieth  Connect- 
icut and  One  Hundred  and  Forty-fifth  New  York.  Archer's 
statement  concerning  the  "vastly  greater  numbers "  on  our 
side,  may  be  taken  as  an  example  of  how  much  truth  there  is, 
as  a  rule,  in  sucli  claims.  He  says  he  only  had  ''  fourteen 
hundred    strong  "   at   the    beginning,  and  there   is   nothing  to 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  331 

show  that  he  had  lost  more  than  a  few  up  to  that  time.  If, 
however,  he  had  as  many  as  1.000  men  in  line,  he  had  the 
equal,  man  for  man,  of  all  who  fired  a  gun  into  his  ranks,  or 
who  were  in  a  position  to  do  so.  We  had  some  wooden  de- 
fenses it  is  true,  if  not  "entrenchments,"  as  he  alleges,  and, 
owing  to  the  location  of  our  line,  if  not  to  the  soldiers  occu- 
pying it,  three  times  his  force  of  the  best  troops  on  earth 
would  only  have  been  slaughtered.  The  Twenty-seventh 
from  its  position  could  pour  a  raking  fire  into  his  ranks,  that 
meant  certain  destruction  to  those  in  them.  The  second  attack 
mentioned  by  Archer,  was  hardly  worthy  of  the  name.  His 
men  barely  advanced  far  enough  to  draw  our  fire,  then  made 
haste  to  fall  back  again. 

After  Archer's  repulse  there  was  a  lull  for  a  few  minutes, 
though  skirmishers  concealed  in  the  timber  south  of  us 
again  annoyed  us  considerably.  Several  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
were  hit  at  this  time. 

A  most  determined  and  bloody  encounter  was  at  hand, 
however.  Off  through  the  oak  woods  to  the  west  of  us, 
another  rebel  column  soon  came  in  sight.  Advancing  to 
perhaps  within  300  yards  of  our  position,  and  climbing  over 
the  abandoned  breastworks  which  were  at  that  point,  they 
were  mostly  concealed  from  us  for  a  while  by  a  depression  in 
the  ground.  Nothing  but  their  flags  and  some  of  their  gleam- 
ing bayonets  projected  up  into  view.  Presently  we  saw  the 
flags  moving  up  and  down,  with  a  quick,  regular  motion,  and 
we  knew  that  they  were  charging  upon  us,  double-quick.  The 
ascent  was  so  gradual  that  it  seemed  an  age,  as  we  stood  at  a 
ready,  before  their  persons  were  visible.  First  we  could  see 
their  hats,  then  their  faces,  then  their  shoulders,  etc.  They 
were  the  best  dressed,  tidiest  and  most  soldierl3^-looking  lot  of 
rebels  that  we  ever  saw;  and  their  splendid  courage  and  mili- 
tary precision  will  command  our  profound  admiration  forever. 
The  writer  took  more  careful  note  of  these  things  because  his 
station,  towards  the  left  of  the  regiment  as  it  was  then  formed, 
prevented  him  and  those  near  him  from  taking  part  in  the 
combat,  until  later. 

As  the  forms  of  the  enemy  appeared  over  the  slight  ridge 
a  crackling  fire  was  opened  upon  them,  growing  heavier  as 
they  approached.  The  gaps  thus  made  in  their  ranks  were 
speedily  closed,  however,  and  their  line  came  steadily  on. 
Those  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh    who   were    in     posi- 


TWENTY-SEVHNTH    INDIANA.  333 

tion   to  take  part  in   the    firing  were  consideraaly  distracted 
lest  we,  who  were  rather  behind   tliem,  might  fire    into  them. 

The  Second  Massachusetts,  to  our  right,  was  lying  down 
at  the  time,  or  partially  so,  and  did  not  seem  to  take  much 
part  in  the  firing  until  the  enemy's  line  was  within  one  hun- 
dred yards  or  less.  Then,  at  the  command,  the  men  of  the 
Second  arose  to  their  knees  and  coolly  delivered  a  most  scath- 
ing volley,  after  which  they  continued  to  load  and  fire  with 
marked  effectiveness.  The  enemy  staggered  and  hesitated 
when  exposed  to  the  full  fire  from  our  side,  but  continued  to 
advance.  At  about  this  time  the  command  was  given  for  the 
Twenty-seventh  to  gain  ground  to  the  right,  double-quick, 
which  should  have  been  done  earlier.  This  gave  us  all  a  chance 
to  take  an  untrammeled   part  in  the  fray. 

And  now  began  a  drama  of  war  which  for  cool,  deliber- 
ate action  and  resolute,  unflinching  endurance,  on  both  sides, 
has  had  few  parallels  anywhere.  Both  lines  stood  out  in  open 
ground,  the  few  scattering  trees  affording  scant  protection. 
There  was  no  perceptible  difference  either  way  in  numbers. 
When  the  enemy  finally  came  to  what  was  practically  a 
stand-still,  the  two  antagonists  were  not  more  than  seventy- 
five  yards  apart,  and  may  have  been  nearer.  Both  loaded 
and  fired  their  muskets  as  fast  as  they  possibly  could.  In 
the  ranks  of  both,  brave  men  fell  with  heartrending  raj  idity. 
The  colors  on  both  sides  changed  hands  almost  as  fast  as 
men  could  handle  them.  Sometimes  they  were  not  raised 
to  a  perpendicular  after  being  down  before  the  fearless  arm 
that  had  essayed  to  do  it  was  nerveless  in  death.  At  first 
there  was  cheering  on  both  sides,  but  soon  all  that  ceased. 
All  time,  all  thought  and  all  effort  came  to  be  concentrated 
upon  barely  one  thing.  With  high-wrought,  supreme  earn- 
estness, and  with  a  savage,  fiendish  purpose,  all  strained  them- 
selves to  the  very  utmost  to  wound  and  kill. 

This  close,  murderous  contest  continued  for  a  solid  half 
hour.  For  once,  there  is  a  substantial  agreement  in  all  quar- 
ters as  to  this.  Then,  whether  from  superior  endurance  in 
Northern  character,  or  lack  of  opportunity  for  Southern  dash, 
or  whether  some  other  circumstance  turns  the  scale,  the  enemy 
begin  to  withdraw.  They  give  ground  very  slowly,  almost 
imperceptibly,  at  first,  and  they  never  break  into  a  run.  But 
their  backs  being  finally  turned  they  move  more  rapidly,  and  are 
soon  practically  out  of  range.     They  fell  back  lo  the  unoccu- 


834  HISTORY    OF    THE 

pied  breastworks,  near  where  they  had  crossed  them  in  their 
advance. 

It  seemed  to  us  all  at  the  time,  a  serious  mistake  that  we 
did  not  follow  up  our  advantage  and  make  a  counter  charge. 
When  the  enemy  first  began  to  retire  a  prompt  assault  on  our 
part,  we  all  believed,  would  have  given  us  their  colors,  which 
at  that  moment  were  lying  on  the  ground,  well  in  front  of 
their  line,  and  a  goodly  number  of  prisoners.  A  charge  was 
was  not  ordered,  however,  and  none  was  made. 

After  the  enemy  had  withdrawn  we  gained  more  ground 
to  the  right,  and  eventually  advanced  a  short  distance  to  the 
front.  This  was  to  readjust  our  ranks  and  correct  our  align- 
ment. We  had  barely  time  to  make  this  slight  preparation 
when  another  column  of  the  enem\^  appeared  in  vie\v,  advanc- 
ing to  engage  us.  This  kept  on  the  farther  side  of  the  aban- 
doned breastworks,  before  mentioned,  but  followed  their  direc- 
tion and  moved  around  to  our  left.  It  finally  came  over  the 
breastworks,  or  a  part  of  it  did,  a  short  distance,  but  soon 
recrossed  them  again  and  took  shelter  behind  them.  In  the 
position  we  now  occupied  these  breastworks  ran  diagonally 
across  our  front.  The  left  of  the  Twenty-seventh  was  per- 
haps sixty  yards  from  them,  and  the  right  one  hundred  yards. 

When  the  enemy  at  length  settled  themselves  behind  this 
log  parapet,  there  began  another  unusual  transaction.  If  the 
writer's  researches  among  the  reports  and  histories  of  the  war, 
and  the  accounts  that  he  has  had  from  other  soldiers  as  to  their 
experiences,  have  not  been  at  fault,  it  was  quite  unusual.  The 
Twenty-seventh  stood  out  there  in  open  ground  and,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  regiments  farther  to  the  right  (though  their 
efforts  were  largely  required  on  their  own  front)  kept  up  such 
a  close,  scathing  fire  upon  the  men  behind  those  breastworks 
as  eventually  to  silence  them, — until  they  no  longer  dared 
expose  themselves  enough  to  return  our  fire.  In  the  phrase- 
ology of  the  modern  cowboy,  we  "got  the  drop  on  them."  At 
first  it  seemed  that  most  of  them  had  the  courage  that  the  sit- 
uation required.  As  fust  as  they  could  load  their  muskets 
thev  rose  up,  took  good  aim,  and  fired.  Then  they  dropped 
down  again  to  reload.  But  we  were  able  to  pick  them  off  so 
unerringly  when  exposed  that  they  came  to  consider  it  too 
hazardous,  and  subsided. 

Evidently  some  were  too  courageous  to  yield  until  they 
were    hurt.      One,  in  particular,    many    of  us  remember.      He 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  385 

was  a  large  man,  with  a  high,  wiiite  hat,  and  a  large  roll  of 
blankets  around  his  shoulders.  After  the  firing  began  to  de- 
crease perceptibly  on  the  rebel  side,  despising  all  danger,  as 
fast  as  this  man  could  load  his  gun,  his  bulky  form  appeared 
above  the  logs,  and  his  aim  was  very  deliberate.  It  was  be- 
lieved that  his  shots  were  every  one  effective.  But  his  conduct 
could  not  fail  to  attract  attention,  and  more  and  more  of  our 
boys  "  laid  for  him."  There  were  doubtless  other  instances 
similar  to  this  one. 

Later  in  the  war  we  got  to  putting  head  logs  on  our 
breastworks.  The  body  of  a  good  sized  tree  was  placed  on 
the  top,  with  an  opening  between  it  and  the  logs  below, 
through  which  we  could  point  our  muskets  and  shoot.  For- 
tunately this  had  not  been  done  in  this  case.  We  could  see 
the  rebels  frequently  hold  their  muskets  up  at  arms  length  and 
fire,  without  exposing  their  bodies.  Those  shots  usually  went 
wild.  There  was,  doubtless,  some  chance  also  to  shoot  through 
or  between  the  logs,  as  several  of  our  men  were  hit,  while  we 
stood  watching,  after  all  firing  over  the  works  had  ceased. 

This  contest  at  the  breastworks  continued  more  than  an 
hour.  At  length  Colonel  Colgrove  assumed  the  responsibility 
of  ordering  a  charge,  having  in  vain  ridden  in  search  of  General 
Ruger  previously.  The  charge  should  certainly  have  been 
made  before  it  was.  We  put  on  our  bayonets,  and,  as  our 
line  swept  forward,  a  line  of  men  belonging  to  Sickles'  corps, 
having  come  up  in  our  rear,  advanced  also.  They  were  two 
or  three  rods  behind  us. 

The  eneniy  could  not  have  been  fully  aware  of  our  ap- 
proach. They  did  not  rise  up  until  we  were  within  a  few 
feet  of  the  works.  We  had  even  become  suspicious  that  they 
had  somehow  spirited  themselves  away  and  were  not  there. 
When  they  did  rise  most  of  them  surrendered  witliout  further 
ado.  A  small  number  of  them  foolishly  attempted  to  escape 
by  running,  and  were  simply  shot  down,  like  pot- shotted 
game.  The  writer  saw  one  such,  hit  between  the  shoulders, 
who  could  not  have  been  more  than  ten  feet  from  the  one  who 
did  the  shooting. 

Colonel  Colgrove  estimates  the  number  of  prisoners  taken 
at  this  time  at  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred. 
Unintentionally  he  does  his  regiment  and  himself  as  well  an 
injustice,  by  saying  that  the  prisoners  were  captured  for  the 
reason   that  they  became  entangled  in  the  abattis,  or  slashed 


386  HISTORY    OF    THE 

timber,  which  of  course  was  on  their  side  of  the  works.  On 
the  contrary,  they  surrendered  solely  because  the  Twenty- 
seventh  advanced  upon  them  at  a  charge  bayonet,  with  loaded 
muskets.  They  knew  that  to  attempt  to  run  or  resist  meant 
death. 

We  remained  at  the  breastworks  some   minutes  and   then 
were  ordered  to  resume  our  place  in  the  line.     The  explanation 
of  this  retrograde  move  appears  in  Colonel  Colgrove's  report 
quoted  further  along.      He  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to  remain 
there,  after  the  object  he  had  in  view  was  accomplished. 

In  connection  with  this  return  to  our  former  line,  there 
was  a  .transaction,  the  recollection  of  which  has  always 
brought  both  sad  and  bitter  thoughts  to  our  minds.  When 
we  arrived  at  the  breastworks,  in  addition  to  those  rebels  who 
surrendered,  a  large  number  were  lying  there  who  had  the 
appearance  of  being  dead  or  wounded.  The  question  was 
raised  among  us  as  to  whether  all  those  who  were  sighing  and 
groaning  as  if  they  were  badly  hurt,  were  really  so,  and  in 
fact,  whether  some  of  those  who  appeared  to  be  dead  were  not 
"  playing  possum."  A  few  of  the  sterner  and  more  unsympa- 
thetic ones  among  us  w^ere  in  favor  of  harsh  measures,  to  test 
some  of  the  most  suspicious  cases.  In  one  instance,  a  soldier 
near  the  writer,  insisted  that  he  had  discovered  a  rebel  lying 
in  front  of  him,  simulating  the  symptoms  of  being  stone  dead, 
squinting  out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye  to  see  what  we  were 
doing.  It  was  with  much  difficulty  that  the  soldier  could  be 
restrained  from  putting  a  bullet  into  the  prostrate  form  of 
the  rebel.  Humanity  seemed  to  dictate,  however,  that  these 
prone,  defenseless  bodies,  most  of  which  were  unquestionably 
in  need  of  pity  and  kindness,  sliould  all  have  the  benefit  of 
reasonable  doubt.     None  of  them,  therefore,  were  molested. 

But  the  sequel  was  infamous.  When  we  turned  our 
backs,  some  of  these  miscreants,  who  doubtless  had  heard  our 
contention  over  their  cases  and  knew  that  mercy  and  fellow 
feeling  had  triumphed  in  their  behalf,  now  seized  ther  mus- 
kets and  shot  into  our  ranks,  killing,  in  one  or  two  instances, 
the  very  men,  who,  a  moment  before,  had  begged  to  have 
them,  or  others  in  their  condition,  spared.  The  courageous, 
high-minded  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  whom  by  such  foul, 
treacherous  means,  we  lost  at  that  time,  w^e  have  never  ceased 
to  mourn  in  a  peculiarly  distressing  way.  On  the  other  hand, 
our  sentiments  toward   those  who  could  or  would  be  guilty  of 


TWENTV-SEVEXTH     INDIANA.  387 

waging  war  in  the  manner  these  few  rebels  did,  hud  better 
not  be  expressed.  Few  of  us  can  believe  that  their  conduct 
was  approved  by  any  large  number  of  the  proud,  soldierly 
men  who  confronted  us  that  memorable  day,  on  that  gory 
field. 

The  troops  making  the  first  attack  from  the  west,  follow- 
ing the  attack  from  the  south  by  Archer's  men,  were  of  Mc- 
Gowan's  brigade,  four  regiments,  all  vSouth  Carolinians. 
They  were  the  First  Rifles,  and  the  First,  Thirteenth  and 
Fourteenth  Volunteers.  The  Twelfth  South  Carolina  Volun- 
teers also  belonged  to  the  brigade,  but  was  not  engaged,  being 
on  other  duty.  The  regiments  were  in  line  from  their  right 
(our  left)  in  the  order  named.  This  brought  the  Rifles  and 
the  Twenty-seventh  in  conflict  with  each  other.  Many  facts 
mentioned  in  the  report  of  its  commander  are  distinctly 
remembered  by  the  men  of  our  regiment.  About  the  time  the 
rebel  line  reached  its  point  of  farthest  advance,  and  were  find- 
ing it  difficult  to  make  headway  against  such  a  withering  fire 
as  was  being  poured  into  it,  their  color-bearer,  who  was  evi- 
dently a  determined,  resolute  soldier,  forged  forward,  well  in 
front  of  all  others,  and,  waving  the  flag  vigorously  in  our  very 
faces,  motioned  his  comrades  to  come  on.  We  noted  his  heroic 
conduct  and  no  soldier  could  help  but  admire  such  gallantry  ; 
yet  such  a  leader  in  the  ranks  of  the  foe  rendered  victory  for 
us  more  doubtful,  so  we  rejoiced  to  see  him  and  his  flag  both 
go  down,  almost  on  the  instant.  Of  this  the  Colonel  says  : 
"  Serg.  L.  R.  Wardlaw,  of  Company  B,  siezed  the  colors  and 
bore  them  far  to  the  front,  placing  them  in  the  face  of  a 
destructive  fire  from  the  enemy,  and  calling  on  the  regiment 
to  follow.  While  bearing  them  with  such  conspicuous  gal- 
lantry he  fell,  it  is  feared,  mortally  wounded.'' 

We  also  saw  their  colors  fall  several  other  times  after 
this.  At  length  they  were  left  lying  on  the  ground  for  some 
seconds.  Just  then  the  retrograde  movement  was  perceptible 
and,  for  an  instant,  it  appeared  as  if  they  might  be  going  to 
leave  their  colors  behind.  But  a  soldier  dashed  back  later 
and  recovered  them.  He  came  in  a  stooping  posture  and 
returned  in  the  same  manner,  apparently  dragging  the  colors 
after  him.  They  were  not  again  raised  to  a  perpendicular, 
and  we  often  wondered  why  they  were  not.  As  to  this  inci- 
dent the  report  says  :   "  While  the  regiment  was  retiring,  Capt. 

J.  T.  Robertson,  of  Companv  B,  who  was  assisting  our  then 
22 


338  HISTORY    OF    THE 

wounded  colonel,  seeing  the  colors  fall  near  him,  ordered 
a  soldier  passing  by,  and  who  proved  to  be  a  member  of  the 
First  South  Carolina  Volunteers,  to  carry  them  to  the  rear. 
The  colors  were  riddled  with  shot  holes  and  the  Jiagstaff  was 
shivered  in  several  places." 

The  second  line  of  the  enemy  which  advanced  against 
this  point  was  Colston's  brigade,  composed  of  three  Virginia 
regiments  and  two  from  North  Carolina.  This  brigade  failing 
to  make  headway  against  Ruger's  brigade,  another,  Paxton's, 
was  ordered  up  also.  This  was  the  celebrated  '•  Stone  Wall 
Brigade  " — all  Virginians.  The  First  South  Carolina  Rifles 
and  the  First  South  Carolina  Volunteers  had  in  the  meantime 
been  withdrawn,  but  the  remnant  of  the  other  two  South 
Carolina  regiments  seem  to  have  remained.  So,  there  were 
now  two  brigades  and  a  part  of  another  behind  those  breast- 
works, none  of  them  able  to  come  over  more  than  a  short 
distance. 

Additional  extracts  from  reports  and  other  printed  state- 
ments, will  be  given  farther  on. 

After  the  charge  alread}'  mentioned,  and  we  had  returned 
to  the  position  we  had  occupied  before  it  was  made,  there 
was  another  period  of  quiet.  We  were  surprised  that  there 
was  not  a  vigorous  advance  ordered  along  our  front  at  this 
time,  as  we  seemed  to  have  so  much  the  best  of  the  enemy. 
And  all  through  the  years  we  have  cherished  fond,  roseate 
visions  of  "  what  might  have  been,"  if  a  strong  column  had 
been  vigorously  thrust  into  this  breach  in  the  enemy's  line. 
The  troops  for  it  were  immediately  at  hand.  The  other  regi- 
ments of  our  brigade  and  possibly  most  of  the  others  of  Will- 
dams'  division,  had  been  relieved  and  ordered  back.  But 
Birney's  division,  herotofore  mentioned  in  this  narrative,  had 
been  held  close  up  to  Williams'  line,  and  had  now  relieved 
part  of  it.  They  were  stalwart,  adventurous  veterans,  eager 
for  some  opportunity  to  strike  a  telling  blow,  and  the  men  to 
take  advantage  of  a  great  opportunity.  What  they  might 
have  accomplished  if  hurled  in,  and  wheeling  to  the  right, 
had  struck  the  enemy  in  the  direction  of  the  plank  road  in 
flank,  will  never  be  known,  for  it  was  not  done.  Only  this 
much  is  certain  :  many  of  the  great  victories  of  history  have 
been  won  by  such  means. 

As  it  was,  we  stood  in  line  without  tiring  a  shot  for  a 
short  time  and  then  received  orders  to  withdraw  in  tiie  direc- 


TWENTV-SEVEXTH     INDIANA.  339 

tion  of  Chancellorsville.  The  immediate  reason  for  the  with- 
drawal of  the  Twenty-seventh  seems  to  have  been  that  we 
had  really  been  relieved  by  other  troops.  We  might  have 
retired  when  the  other  regiments  of  the  brigade  did,  but 
Colonel  Colgrove  had  asked  some  of  the  men  whether  or  not 
they  wanted  to  be  relieved,  and  they  had  said  not.  So  we 
had  remained  until  now.  But  the  troops  of  Birney's  division 
withdrew  along  with  us.  The  battle  had  not  gone  well  with 
our  forces  near  the  plank  road  and,  instead  of  bringing  for- 
ward more  men,  of  which  there  was  a  surfeit,  the  supine, 
ignominious  and  disastrous  alternative  of  falling  back  to  a 
new  position  had  been  preferred. 

It  is  droll  to  read  in  the  reports  of  brigade  and  regimental 
commanders  of  the  rebel  troops,  which  seem  to  have  fol- 
lowed us  after  our  retrogade  movement  began,  how  they  first, 
accuse  each  other  of  hugging  the  breastworks  and  lying 
behind  them  six  or  eight  deep,  then  how  each  claims  a  con- 
spicuous part  for  his  command  (and  incidentally  for  himself, 
of  course)  in  driving  us  and  those  with  us,  from  that  vicinity. 
The  God's  truth  is,  that  while  the  Twenty-seventh  was  as  much 
driven  as  other  Union  troops,  we  did  not  even  know  when 
we  started  back  that  there  was  any  considerable  force  in  our 
front.  After  arriving  almost  at  the  lone  house,  which  con- 
stituted the  place  that  gave  its  name  to  the  battle,  looking 
back,  we  saw  a  column  of  rebel  infantry  following  us.  Where 
they  had  come  from  was  something  of  a  mystery  to  us. 

The  Twenty-seventh  took  no  farther  active  part  in  the 
"battle.  Halting  in  the  rear  of  Chancellorsville  for  a  few  min- 
utes, our  cartridge  boxes  were  replenished,  and  we  were 
ordered  still  farther  to  the  rear. 

On  the  way,  but  during  a  short  halt,  we  lost  one  more 
prominent  and  worthy  member  of  the  regiment,  Lieutenant 
Hamrick,  of  Company  A.  After  being  with  the  regiment 
through  the  entire  engagement  of  the  morning,  sharing  fully 
its  dangers  and  honors,  here,  half  a  mile  in  thereat,  he  was  to 
have  his  name  added  to  the  already  long  list  of  those  who, 
that  day,  died  for  their  countr3\  A  large  round  shot,  which 
had  passed  high  over  the  heads  of  our  men  in  front,  descending, 
struck  him  back  of  the  shoulder  and,  plowing  towadrs  his  op- 
posite hip,  killed  him  instantly. 

It  is  a  satisfaction  to  note  the  vast  improvement  in  official 
reports  as  the  war  progressed.     They  became  fuller  in  details, 


840 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


truer  to  facts,  more  just  to  all,  and  less  boastful.  This  was- 
due  doubtless  to  the  weeding  out  of  place  hunters  and  wind- 
bags, as  well  as  to  the  growing  competency  of  all  who  re- 
mained. 

It  must  be  insisted,  however,  that  neither  Slocum  nor 
Williams,  and  not  even  Ruger,  give  as  clear  and  detailed 
accounts,  showing  the  part  taken  by  the  Third  Brigade  on 
this  part  of  the  field  of  Chancellorsville,  as  their  individual 
observations,  and  the  reports  of  their  regimental  commanders, 
should  have  enabled  them  to  do.  The  same  is  true,  though  to 
a  less  degree,  of  the  whole  of  Williams'  division,  and  even 
the  whole  of  the  Twelfth  Corps. 


Capt.  Wm.  H.  Hollowav,         First-Lieut.  S.  S.  Hamrick, 

Company  I.  Company  A. 

(Killed  at  Chancellorsville.) 

This  is  more  to  be  regretted  as,  being  overshadowed  by 
the  larger  corps  of  Sickles,  by  which  it  was  at  first  supported, 
with  which  it  was  later  intermingled  in  part,  and  by  which 
most  of  its  regiments  were  eventually  relieved,  the  Twelfth 
Corps  has  not,  up  to  this  date,  been  accorded  due  credit  for 
what  it  did  at  Chancellorsville.  This  the  writer  knows  to  be 
true.  The  reason,  in  a  measure,  is  to  be  found  in  the  indefi- 
nite statements  and  inifortunate  omissions  in  the  reports  of  the 
generals  named.  Even  as  distinguished  and  impartial  histor- 
ian as  the  Count  of  Paris  is  vague  and  unintelligible  in  iiis 
account  of  the  battle  as  waged  on  bur  part  of   the   field.      His- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  341 

many  misstatements  of  fact,  reach  a  climax  in  a  description 
of  a  charge  b}'^  one  of  Sickles'  brigades  into  the  exposed  flank 
of  McGowan's  brigade.  Nothing  could  be  more  certain  than 
that  this  brigade  of  South  Carolinians  was  wholly  put  out  of 
the  fight  by  Ruger's  brigade.  Not  a  soldier  of  any  other  com- 
mand fired  a  shot  into  their  ranks. 

After  our  previous  experiences,  it  is  particularly  grati- 
fying to  find  that  our  own  regiment  has  no  cause  of  com- 
plaint by  reason  of  the  statements  of  any  of  the  reports. 
We  were  not  more  willing  to  do  our  whole  duty  here  than  at 
other  times,  and,  all  things  considered,  our  conduct  was  no 
more  creditable.  The  crucial  test  of  courage  was  not  equal 
here  to  that  to  which  we  were  subjected  at  Antietam. 

Among  several  things  properly  belonging  in  the  report  of 
Colonel  Colgrove,  but  not  essential  to  this  narrative,  he  sum- 
marizes the  facts  as  follows  : 

"  Shortly  after  sunrise  on  Sunday  morning,  the  od,  the  enemy,  hav- 
ing obtained  possession  of  our  breastworks  on  the  right,  advanced  on  our 
line  and  opened  fire. 

"In  a  very  short  time  the  whole  Hne  became  engaged.  The  enemy 
advanced  steadily,  delivering  their  fire  with  telHng  effect.  Our  whole  line 
stood  firm.  No  part  of  the  line  yielded  an  inch  or  wavered.  The  enemy 
poured  in  regiment  after  regiment  of  fresh  troops,  determined  to  break 
the  line;  but  whenever  or  wherever  they  made  their  appearance  they 
found  our  fire  so  deadly  that  they  were  forced  to  halt  and  seek  shelter 
behind  the  timber  and  rises  in  the  ground.  After  the  battle  had  pro- 
gressed an  hour  or  more,  my  officers  notified  me  that  the  ammunition  was 
running  short.  I  immediately  rode  up  to  the  right  of  the  line  to  find  you 
{Ruger).  I  found  that  all  the  other  regiments  were  also  running  short  of 
ammunition.  I  could  not  see  you,  and  was  informed  that  Captain  Scott, 
assistant  adjutant-general,  had  been  wounded  and  left  the  field.  I  im- 
mediately ordered  the  whole  line  to  fix  bayonets  and  charge,  which  was 
done  in  gallant  style.  The  rebels  fled  before  us  like  sheep,  and  took 
refuge  behind  the  breastworks  and  reopened  fire  upon  us.  After  deliv- 
ering a  few  rounds,  I  ordered  a  second  charge.  Our  men  charged  to  the 
breastworks  on  the  extreme  left  of  our  line.  In  some  instances  a  regular 
hand-to-hand  fight  took  place.  The  enemy  soon  gave  way,  and,  being  in 
our  abatis,  they  were  soon  thrown  into  the  utmost  confusion.  While  en- 
deavoring to  retreat  through  the  brush  and  tree  tops,  they  became  mixed 
up  in  a  perfect  jam,  our  men  all  the  time  pouring  in  the  most  deadly  fire. 
I  can  safely  say  that  I  have  never  witnessed  on  any  other  occasion  so 
perfect  a  slaughter.  Many  of  them  made  no  attempt  to  get  away,  but 
threw  down  their  arms  and  came  into  our  lines.  I  think  I  am  safe  to  say 
that  we  took  from  IbO  to  200  prisoners  and  sent  them  to  the  rear. 

"  In  short,  the  enemy  at  this  time  had  been  driven  from  our  front, 
jover  the  breastworks,  through  the  abatis,  into  the  woods  beyond,  in  utter 


342  HISTORY    OF    THE 

confusion.  All  this  time  there  was  heavy  firing  going  on  on  our  right, 
and  was  fast  gaining  our  rear.  I  soon  ascertained  that  our  forces  were- 
being  driven  back.  I  immediately  ordered  our  line  to  fall  back,  which  it 
did  in  good  order,  and  formed  again  on  the  original  line  of  battle. 

"  By  this  time  many  of  our  men  were  entirely  out  of  anmiunition,  and 
but  a  few  rounds  remained  to  any.  The  enemy  were  still  advancing  on 
our  right  and  our  forces  falling  back.  At  this  critical  moment  I  received 
orders  from  you  to  fall  back  in  good  order,  which  was  done." 

Colonel  Colgrove  uses  strong  language  in  commending 
the  other  regiments  of  the  brigade.  Those  who  know  him 
will  know  they  were  fully  earned,  otherwise  the  Colonel  would 
never  have  written  them.  He  was  a  man  of  very  positive  con- 
victions, and,  above  all  things,  he  hated  a  coward.      He  says  : 

"  To  say  that  the  three  old  regiments— the  Second  Massachusetts, 
Third  Wisconsin  and  Twenty-seventh  Indiana — fully  sustained  the  rep- 
utation they  won  at  Cedar  Mountain  and  Antietam,  is  the  very  highest 
compliment  that  can  be  paid  them.  I  consider  these  the  three  best  regi- 
ments I  have  ever  seen  in  action. 

"  I  had  the  opportunity  also  of  witnessing  the  manner  in  which  the 
One  Hundred  and  Seventh  New  York  and  Thirteenth  New  Jersey 
regiments  acquitted  themselves  during  the  engagement,  and  take  great 
pleasure  in  stating  that  the  officers  and  men  behaved  handsomely  and 
fought  bravely.  Troops  of  their  experience  could  scarcely  have  done 
better," 

Few  commanders,  as  a  rule,  wrote  better  reports  than 
General  Ruger,  His  reports  usually  set  forth  the  facts  and 
circumstances  very  fully  and  clearly,  though  always  brief  and 
modest.  But,  as  has  been  previously  stated,  when  he  comes^ 
to  speak,  in  his  report  of  this  battle,  of  the  prolonged  and 
determined  contest,  in  which  all  of  his  regiments  bore  such  a 
creditable  part,  namely,  the  repulse  of  the  formidable  and 
repeated  assaults  of  the  enemy,  which  came  from  a  westerly 
direction,  during  that  sauguinary  forenoon  at  Chancellorsville, 
General  Ruger  seems  to  lack  exact  information.  After  speak- 
ing of  the  assault  bv  Archer's  rebel  brigade  and  its  signal 
repulse,  he  barely  mentions  a  further  advance  by  the  enemy 
and  says:  "This  new  assault  was  checked,  and  in  part  by 
the  bayonet."  This  statement  is  not  only  too  brief,  but  it  is 
also  somewhat  ambiguous.  Histories  founded  upon  such 
reports  could  not  be  expected  to  do  full  justice  to  the  men  con 
cerned. 

The  omission  from  General  Roger's  report  of  any  reference 
to  the  charge,  led  with  so  much  wisdom  and  spirit  by  Colonel 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  343 

Colgrove,  is  also  noticeable.  Such  matters  were  seldom 
omitted  from  reports  where  superiors  meant  to  be  courteous 
and  just  to  subordinates.  But  in  ihe  Colonel's  modesty  the 
General  may  not  have  been  fully  apprised  of  the  facts. 

General  Graham,  a  brigade  commander  in  Birney's  divi- 
sion, kindly  volunteers  some  statements  in  his  report,  that 
affords  pleasant  reading  for  those  interested  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh.  He  says,  "  I  cannot  close  my  report  without  men- 
tioning the  gallant  conduct  of  Colonel  Colgrove,  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  Indiana  Volunteers,  and  his  men,  who  formed 
a  part  of  the  brigade  that  we  relieved  in  the  woods,  during 
the  hottest  of  the  fight.  Instead  of  retiring  with  the  rest  of 
his  brigade,  he  remained  with  us  until  his  ammunition  was 
entirely  exhausted,  when  he  retired  in  good  order.  His  cool- 
ness under  fire  and  the  admirable  discipline  and  steadiness  of 
his  men  cannot  receive  too  much  praise." 

The  official  reports  of  commanders  who  led  the  opposing 
forces  at  Chancellorsville  are  not  lacking  in  interest,  in  the 
side  lights  and  incidental  confirmations  that  they  furnish  to 
this  narrative,  as  well  as  in  stating  some  facts  which  we  were 
knowing  to  at  the  time. 

It  provokes  a  smile  to  reod,  in  many  of  these  reports, 
rather  grandeloquent  descriptions  of  their  first  occupancy  of 
the  line  of  log  breastworks,  to  which  reference  has  frequently 
been  made  heretofore.  They  then  speak  also  of  advancing 
against  "  a  second  line  of  works."  All  partisanship  aside, 
the  unvarnished  truth  is  that,  with  the  exception  of  General 
Archer,  any  reference  on  their  part  to  capturing  breast- 
works, or  advancing  against  breastworks,  is  pure  vanity. 
As  has  been  stated,  during  the  conflict  with  Archer's  men, 
a  part  of  the  Twenty-seventh  stood  beliind  the  line  of 
log  breastworks,  built  by  the  Union  army  (partly  by  our- 
selves) two  days  before.  But  almost  nnmediately  after 
Archer's  final  repulse,  we  moved  away  from  those  breast- 
works and,  from  that  time  on,  not  a  single  Union  soldier  was 
behind  them.  The  writer  knows  whereof  he  speaks.  It  was 
absolutely  no  more  to  "  capture,"  "  scale  "  or  "mount  '"  theni 
than  any  other  windrow  of  logs  in  a  forest. 

And,  as  for  a  second  line  of  "defenses"  or  "breast- 
works," there  was  none.  Even  General  Willi  iins  speaks,  in 
his  report,  of  his  division  "  Throwing  up  such  defensts  of  logs 
and  earth  as  was  possible,  froin  tlie  scarcitv  of  tools  at  hand." 


344  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  writer  knows  this  to  be  an  entire  mistake,  as  least  as  far 
as  the  Second  Massachusetts  and  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  was 
concerned.  Neither  of  these  regiments  prepared  a  stick  or 
clod  at  this  point,  and  it  does  not  seem  possible  that  the  Third 
Wisconsin  did  either,  if  indeed  any  of  Willi.ims'  division  did. 
It  is  quite  curious,  as  well  as  a  great  pleasure,  to  note 
also  how  uniformly,  and  in  what  positive  terms  the  rebel  com- 
manders on  this  part  of  the  field  refer  to  the  severity  of  the 
battle,  as  waged  in  the  vicinity  of  our  position.  Colonel 
Hamilton,  who  commanded  McGowan's  brigade  after  the 
latter  was  wounded,  says,  "  The  brigade  soon  became  very 
hotly  engaged. /a/V/cw/rtr/)/  tlic  tzvo  right  regiments.''''  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Harrison,  of  the  First  Rifles,  says,  "  About 
one  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  breastv^orks,  the  enemy 
appeared  in  heavy  force  o)i  our  rights  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Brockman,  Thirteenth  South  Carolina,  says,  "  At  this  point, 
the  Thirteenth  fought  with  great  coolnesss  and  gallantry,  fir- 
ing steadily  under  a  galling  fire  of  shell,  grape,  canister  and 
spherical  case,  with  small  arms,  luainly  on  t/ie  right.''''  Gen- 
eral Colston,  commanding  Trimble's  division,  says,  "  Col- 
ston's brigade,  under  Col.  T.  V.  Williams,  immediately 
advanced  to  the  support  of  the  first  line,  and  became  hotly 
engaged.  Colonel  Williams  being  wounded  and  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Walker,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  command  of  the 
brigade,  being  killed,  the  command  devolved  first  on  Lieuten- 
•  ant-Colonel  Thurston,  Third  North  Carolina,  and  he  being 
wounded,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Brown,  First  North  Carolina, 
assumed  command.  Here  Colonel  McDowell,  First  North 
Carolina,  was  wounded  and  Major  Stover,  Tenth  Virginia, 
was  killed.  B}^  this  time  the  enemy  were  advancing  in  very 
strong  force  tozvards  the  right  of  our  Ii/n\  and  were  about 
outflanking  us  on  the  right. ^^  Colonel  Nadenbousch,  Second 
Virginia,  says,  "  The  line  occupied  by  the  enemy  ran  per- 
pendicular to  ours,  the  left  resting  near  the  breastworks,  and 
about  one  hundred  yards  to  the  right  of  the  position  occupied 
by  my  regiment.  At  this  point  the  regiment  encountered  a 
destructive  fire  of  musketry,  by  which  upwards  of  sixty 
officers  and  men  fell  killed  and  wounded.  Here,  too,  our 
gallant  brigadier-general,  Paxton,  fell  mortally  wounded, 
near  the  head  of  the  regiment."  Other  reports  contain 
allusions  similar  to  these  quoted.  To  understand  them  prop- 
erly, it  must  be  borne  in  mind    that    their  right   was  our   left. 


TWENTY-SEVKNTir    IXDIAXA.  345 

The  Third  Brigade  (ours)  occupied  tlie  extreme  left  of  the 
Union  line,  and  confronted  the  extreme  right  of  the  rebel  force. 
The  Twenty-seventh,  being  the  left  regiment  in  the  Union 
line,  the  Second  Virginia  was  undoubtedly  in  front  of  it  at 
the  time  referred  to  by  Colonel  Nadenbousch.  We  see,  there- 
fore, that  the  Twenty-seventh  and  its  valiant  and  trustworthy 
sister  regiments  of  the  Third  Brigade  seem  to  have  made  quite 
a  positive  impression  upon  the  men   in  gray  that  morning. 

It  has  been  well  said  that,  while  the  Union  army  really 
outnumbered  its  antagonist  in  the  Chancellorsville  campaign, 
more  than  two  to  one,  yet,  the  forces  on  our  side  were  so 
■clumsily  handled  that  in  every  important  passage  at  arms,  if 
the  sides  were  not  substantially  equal,  the  preponderance  was, 
in  most  cases,  in  favor  of  the  enemy.  This  was  undoubtedly 
true  in  every  instance  where  the  Twenty-seventh  participated. 
As  already  stated,  putting  the  number  of  Archer's  brigade 
■even  lower  than  would  seem  probable  from  his  own  statement, 
the  number  of  men  actually  in  position  to  do  execution  against 
him,  was  less  than  his,  rather  than  greater. 

With,  reference  to  the  relative  strength  of  McGowans' 
brigade  and  Ruger's,  leaving  out  regiments  not  engaged,  the 
same  was  true,  again.  This  was  apparent  at  the  time,  to  those 
who  were  in  a  position  to  observe  the  facts.  The  two  lines 
corresponded,  both  as  to  length  and  densitv,  in  a  curious  way. 
In  two  reports  of  regimental  commanders  in  McGowan's 
brigade  the  number  carried  into  action  is  placed  at  300  each. 
Both  statements  are  made  to  indicate  the  large  percentage  of 
loss  the  two  regiments  sustained.  It  is  not  likely,  therefore, 
that  the  estimate  was  too  high.  But  the  number  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  other  two  regiments  exceeded  that  of  the 
two  which  gave  their  whole  number  as  300  each.  So  it  seems 
reasonable,  that  they  at  least  equaled  the  others  in  numbers, 
before  the  battle.  That  would  give  a  total  of  1,200  for  the 
four  regiments  of  McGowan's  brigade,  somewhat  outnumber- 
ing Ruger's  brigade,  with  the  One  Hundred  and  Seventh 
New  York  and  the  Thirteenth  New  Jersey  not  engaged,  as 
they  were  not,  during  that  part  of  the  battle. 

Ruger's  brigade  had  the  advantage  common  to  all  soldiers 
receiving  an  assault — the  delivery  of  the  lirst  lire  ;  and  they 
reaped  the  benefit  of  it  in  full,  by  coolly  waiting  until  the 
enemy  was  in  good  range,  then  taking  deliberate  aim.  As 
against    this,    the   enemy    had    the    impetus    and     inthusiasm 


346  HISTORV    OF    THE 

gained  in  a  very  spirited  charge.  The  least  lack  of  steadiness 
or  discipline  among  us  would  have  been  fatal. 

In  the  subsequent  encounters,  on  what  was  almost  the 
same  ground,  if  there  was  any  preponderance  of  numbers,  it 
was  not  on  our  side.  When  the  One  Hundred  and  Seventh 
New  York  and  Thirteenth  New  Jersey  came  into  line  with 
us  the  other  side  was  reinforced  by  Colston's  brigade.  When 
some  of  the  regiments  of  Sickles"  corps  were  thrown  forward, 
all  of  Ruger's  brigade  was  withdrawn  except  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  and,  at  this  juncture.  Paxton's  brigade,  and  probably 
other  troops  also,  arrived  to  strengthen  the  enemy.  Thus,  all 
the  way  through,  on  this  part  of  the  field,  there  was  no  great 
inequality  of  numbers  either  way,  especially  not  in   our  favor. 

After  the  death  of  Lieutenant  Hamrick,  as  previously 
narrated,  the  battle  seemed  to  be  raging  fiercely  again  at  the 
front,  and  orders  came  for  the  Twenty-seventh  to  return  there. 
It  might  have  been  alleged  that  four  hours  continuouslv  under 
fire,  with  tlie  great  losses  already  sustained,  was  enough  to 
exempt  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  from  further  exposure. 
And  the  alacrity  and  enthusiasm  with  which  thev  formed 
their  sadly  depleted  ranks,  as  well  as  the  briskness  with 
which  they  started  toward  the  point  of  danger,  has  often  been 
a  subject  of  proud  recollection  to  the  writer.  But  tiie  regi- 
ment was  not  needed.  After  going  a  short  distance  towards 
the  front,  another  halt  was  ordered,  and  eventually  the  men 
spent  the  night  along  the  road  leading  to  United  States  Ford, 
perhaps  a  mile  from  Chancellorsville. 

The  next  day  we  relieved  troops  of  the  Eleventh  Corps 
in  the  trenches,  at  the  extreme  left  of  the  Union  line,  where 
it  joined  the  Rappahannock  river.  Nothing  worthy  of  note 
transpired  here,  except  the  shelling  of  the  wagon  train  parked 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  by  the  rebel  artillery.  Tliis  oc- 
curred early  one  morning. 

Without  knowing  it,  probably,  the  rebels  also  had  tlie 
range  of  our  field  hospital,  wiiich  was  north  of  the  river  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  wagon  train.  There  was  an  immense  commo- 
tion for  a  time  among  the  wounded.  Men  who  had  not  been 
able  to  walk  at  all  before  the  shells  began  to  fall  near  them, 
were  then  able  to  make  a  fair  out  at  running.  Some  wha 
could  not  walk  and  could  not  even  crawl,  reached  places  of 
safety  by  rolling  over  and  over.  These  things  we  who  were 
with  the  regiment  did  not  see,  of  course.    The  shells  were  fired 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


347 


from  our  immediate  front  and   they  passed   diagonally    across 
our  left. 

As  so  often  happened  after  battles,  it  rained  very  hard 
every  day  for  several  days,  succeeding  this  battle.  Particu- 
larly during  the  night  of  the  5th  and  the  morning  of  the  Gth^ 
there  was  an  unusually  heavy  rainfall. 


On  this  latter  morning,  slightly  after  daylight,  the  Twen- 
ty-seventh moved  away  from  the  trenches,  and  an  hour  later, 
with  our  brigade,  crossed  the  river  at  United  States  Ford,  to- 
the  north  bank.     Once  over,  all  the  regiments  seemed  to  have 


S48  HISTORY    OF    THE 

orders  to  move  directly,  and  almost  without  regard  to  each 
other,  back  to  their  old  camps.  The  rain  scarcely  ceased  for 
a  moment  all  day.  Darkness  was  just  coming  on  when  tired, 
wet,  bedraggled  with  mud,  sore  with  disappointment,  and 
almost  heart-broken  over  our  losses,  we  reached  our  old  camp, 
filed  to  the  rear  by  companies  into  the  familiar  streets,  and  dis- 
banded. The  campaign  symbolized  by  that  one  word,  that 
one  lone  brick  house  in  the  wilderness — Chancellorsville — was 
at  an  end. 

The  Twenty-seventh  lost  at  Chancellorsville  82  officers 
and  men  killed  and  mortally  wounded,  and  118  officers 
and  men  wounded.  After  a  protracted  and  very  diligent 
search  four  names  had  to  be  consigned  to  the  "  missing"  or 
"unaccounted  for  "  column.  Later  on  it  was  learned  that  at 
least  some  of  these  were  killed  in  our  movement  away  from 
the  breastworks,  recounted  heretofore,  and  it  is  believed  that 
the  whole  four  were  killed  or  mortally  wounded  at  one  stage 
or  another  of  the  contest.  They  did  not  turn  up  either  among 
the  wounded  who  escaped  across  the  river,  or  among  those 
who  were  taken  prisoners.  None  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were 
permitted  to  go  over  the  ground  after  the  battle,  so  it  was 
possible  that  one  who  fell  killed  or  mortally  wounded  un- 
noticed by  those  near  him,  should  not  be  identified  afterwards. 

The  Third  Brigade  lost  in  this  battle,  7  officers  and  74 
men  killed,  87  officers  and  484  men  wounded,  and  68  men 
missing. 

The  losses  of  the  South  Carolina  Brigade,  as  reported  by 
Lee's  Medical  Department,  were  as  follows  :  Killed  46, 
Avounded  828. 

The  same  authority  gives  the  following  losses  : 

Archer's  Brigade,  killed  42,  wounded  280. 

Colston's  Brigade,  killed  118,  wounded  466. 

Paxton's  Brigade,  killed  49,  wounded  488. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 


BETWEEN  THE  BATTLES. 

The  first  night  and  the  first  few  clays  after  returning  to 
our  old  quarters  near  Stafford  Court  House,  the  harsh,  relent- 
less side  of  war  came  home  to  us  closer,  perhaps,  than  at  any 
other  time  during  our  service.  It  was  our  experience  after 
Antietam  over  again,  with  added  and  aggravated  features. 
The  writer  has  always  considered  a  certain  song,  extensively 
sung  during  the  war  and  since,  as  not  only  maudlin  in  senti- 
ment but  a  libel  upon  the  facts.  In  dismal,  plaintive  tones  it 
represents  the  soldier  as  ''  Tenting  on  the  old  camp  ground," 
and  "Wishing  for  the  war  to  cease,"  with  other  et  ceteras, 
among  which  "Many  are  in  tears."  Every  bit  of  it,  except 
the  tenting,  was  and  is  untrue  to  life.  As  the  world  knows, 
the  song  was  written  by  a  conscript,  and  an  experienced 
soldier  can  readily  imagine  what  must  have  been  his  woe- 
begone, homesick  plight  at  the  time. 

But  when  we  turned  into  our  company  streets  that  night 
after  returning  from  Chancellorsville,  and  set  about  readjust- 
ing ourselves  to  former  conditions,  it  required  resolute  will- 
power to  sustain  us.  The  bare  facts  were  so  pitiless  !  Some 
whole  messes  were  entirely  wiped  out ;  not  a  man  was  left  to 
claim  the  deserted  hut.  In  others  only  one,  or  perhaps  two, 
remained.  In  all  there  were  shocking  vacancies.  Some  com- 
panies had  no  commissioned  officers  ;  others  had  but  one,  and 
none  had  more  than  two.  Those  who  had  endeared  them- 
selves by  long  and  capable  service  and  many  acts  of  thoughtful 
kindness,  were  gone.  A  roll  of  thirteen  noncommissioned 
officers  was  reduced,  in  most  cases,  to  four  or  five.  A  com- 
pany, at  roll-call,  looked  like  an  ordinary  detail  for  guard. 
And  those  forever  lost  to  us,  known  to  be  dead,  left  unburied 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  henceforth  to  fill  nameless  graves, 
and  for  no  good  purpose,  in  many  instances  were  the  noblest, 
truest,  worthiest  of  us  all.  Is  it  a  wonder  that  it  almost  broke 
our  hearts? 


S50  HISTORY    OF    THE 

A  loss  sadly  noticed  at  the  time,  and  one  which  never 
ceased  to  be  felt,  was  the  breaking  up  of  the  glee  club  of  Com- 
pany C.  This  squad  of  singers  has  been  mentioned  hereto- 
fore. They  came  into  more  and  more  prominence,  relatively, 
as  our  service  lengthened.  They  used  to  sing  "  Louisiana  Low 
Lands  Low,"  "Old  Kentucky  Home,"  and  other  sentimental 
songs,  as  well  as  the  standard  patriotic  songs  of  the  time,  in  a 
delightful  way.  Many  pleasant  hours  had  been  passed  in 
camp  listening  to  their  sweet  singing;  while  the  weariness  of 
many  a  toilsome  march  had  been  relieved  or  forgotten,  under 
the  spell  of  some  ringing  song. 

At  times  when  strength  seemed  about  to  fail  and  the 
spirits  of  all  the  men  were  at  a  low  ebb, the  Colonel,  or  some- 
one else,  would  call  for  a  song.  "Where  are  you,  boys,  could 
you  give  us  a  song?"  At  this,  the  soprano,  whose  voice  was 
really  feminine  in  its  intonation,  would  start  "John  Brown," 
or  "  Rally  the  Flag,  Boys."  Others  would  take  up  the  strain, 
and  all  who  could  sing  would  join  in  the  chorus,  until,  from 
one  end  of  the  column  to  the  other,  would  resound  a  tremen- 
dous volume  of  melody.  And  it  never  failed  to  help.  Feet 
did  not  feel  quite  so  sore,  nor  limbs  quite  so  weary  ;  knapsacks 
and  guns  did  not  seem  quite  so  heavy,  nor  distances  quite  so 
long.  But  all  this  was  over  after  the  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville  !  The  soprano,  a  glorious,  good  soldier,  as  well  as  one 
of  the  brightest,  most  companionable  boys  that  ever  lived,  was 
shot  through  the  body  and  died  in  a  few  hours.  Two  others 
of  the  glee  club  were  so  badly  wounded  that  it  practically 
ended  their  service  with  the  Twenty-seventh.  The  boys  were 
sorely,  sorely  missed  ! 

"  O  for  the  sight  of  a  vanished  hand, 
And  a  voice  that  is  forever  still  I  " 

But  duty  called  I  The  next  day  after  our  return,  by  or- 
ders, we  had  a  general  cleaning  up  of  camp,  arms,  clothing 
and  equipments.  The  second  day,  Williams'  division  was  re- 
viewed by  General  Slocum. 

Shall  it  be  related  that  this  was  the  first  time  that  the 
Twenty-seventh  was  the  happy  recipients  of  a  warm  and  uni- 
versal cordiality  from  the  olKcers  and  men  under  whom  and 
with  whom  we  were  serving.^  We  had  received  compliments 
before,  of  course,  and  had  made  many  friends,  both  in  high 
and  low  stations.     But  there  was  always  something  lacking, — 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  351 

evident  reserve  or  coldness  somewhere.  Now,  for  once,  it 
was  all  the  other  way.  From  corps  commander,  down  to  the 
men  in  all  the  regiments,  every  one  was  openly  and  heartily 
cordial.  Smiles,  compliments  and  cheers  greeted  the  Twentv- 
seventh  on  every  hand  !  General  vSlocum  fairly  beamed  upon 
us,  and  aides  and  orderlies  clapped  hands  and  waved  guidons 
as  we  passed  corps  headquarters  going  out.  General  Williams, 
stern,  grufif  old  "Pap,"  was  heard  to  say  to  someone  by  his 
side,  as  we  passed  him  :  "  That's  a  fighting  regiment  for 
you!"  Maybe  all  this  did  not  cheer  our  hearts?  Maybe  we 
did  not  brace  up  and  resolve  to  be  more  and  more  worthv  of 
such  treatment. 

Being  the  only  Indiana  regiment  in  the  corps,  our  position 
was  peculiar.  Most  Eastern  people  had  strange  notions  about 
Indiana  previous  to  the  war,  if  they  are  really  rid  of  them  now. 

For  six  weeks,  near  Stafford  Court  House,  we  tried  hard 
to  pull  ourselves  together  again,  and  take  up  the  broken 
threads  of  army  life.  Squad,  company,  battalion,  and  even 
brigade  drill,  all  had  a  place  in  our  round  of  duties.  In  the 
language  of  more  recent  days,  it  was  '•  no  soft  snap"  to  serve 
in  the  Twenty-seventh.  Even  when  some  might  have  thought 
proper  to  take  things  easy  we  were  disposed  to  "  hustle."' 
Colonel  Colgrove  had  gone  home  on  account  of  the  wound  he 
had  received  at  Chancellorsville,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fes- 
ler  was  in  command  of  the  regiment. 

Almost  every  day  there  \a  as  a  booming  of  cannon  off 
towards  the  Rappahannock.  This  was  always  followed  by  a 
camp  rumor  or  "  grapevine  dispatch  ■'  accounting  for  it.  In 
these  camp  rumors,  Hooker  was  sometimes  south  of  the  Rap- 
pahanock  river,  with  Lee  wholly  at  his  mercy,  and  sometimes 
Lee  was  north  of  the  river  with  the  advantages  all  reversed. 
Or  it  was  some  other  equally  improbable  story,  equally  dis- 
credited by  those  who  heard  it.  The  army  appeared  to  be 
"  all  torn  up,"  abnormally  restless,  full  of  foreboding  and 
anxiety.  But,  withal,  there  was  absolutely  nothing  of  that 
discontent  which  borders  on  demoralization,  mucli  less  insubor- 
dination. We  had  met  with  a  most  inexcusable,  and  tliereforc 
most  discouraging,  defeat.  Neglect  and  incompetency  we  had 
been  the  victims  of  before.  This  time  thousands  of  the  best 
soldiers,  the  bravest  of  men  and  the  purest  of  patriots,  had 
.been  sacrificed  by  outrageous  and  criminal  worthlessness. 

We  find  President  Lincoln  writing  to  General  Hooker  at 


352 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


this  period,  inquiring"  what  his  plans  were,  and  urtring  him  to 
do  something,  giving  as  a  reason  tiiat  lie  did  not  believe  that 
the  people  would  stand  a  period  of  inactivity,  following  such 
a  disappointing  campaign.  Nothing  could  better  demonstrate 
the  immeasurable  superiority  of  the  unconquerable  Union 
Ar.r.y  than  facts  such  as  these.  What  a  lofty  spirit  inspired 
it  indeed.  If  it  was  hard  for  the  people  to  bear  such  a  defeat, 
how  much  harder  for  the  soldieis  in  the  field  .^  Yet  well  do 
we  all  remember  the  many  expressions  of  unshaken  faith 
in  the  cause,  and  of  unswerving  devotion  to  duty  among  the 
bovs  at  this  time.      Plain,  unlettered  men,  serving  in  the  ranks 


Surgeon  W.  H.  Twiford. 


First-Lieut.  F.  D.  Rixdell, 
Company   G. 


as  private  soldiers,  with  no  more  at  stake  in  the  war  than 
other  humble  citizens,  as  they  gathered  in  little  knots  through 
the  day,  or  at  their  picket  reserves  at  night,  said  again  and 
again,  as  they  discussed  the  situation  between  themselves,  that 
they  knew  their  cause  must  be  right,  they  believed  that  some- 
how it  would  yet  succeed,  and  they  afhrmed  their  unalteiable 
determination  to  stand  by  it  to  the  bitter  end  ! 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Chancellor.s\irie  a  num- 
ber of  Indiana  friends  again  came  to  the  regiment.  It  did  all 
of  us  good  to  see  them.  Even  those  of  us  not  personally 
acquainted  with  any  of  them  were  cheered  and  encouraged  to 


TWENTY   SEVENTH     INDIANA.  353 

set  eyes  upon  them.  We  knew  they  were  from  Indiana  and 
sympathized  with  us  and  our  cause.  Their  errand  was  mostly 
to  look  after  wounded  ones  in  the  recent  battle,  or  the  more 
hopeless  errand  of  obtaining  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  Our 
wounded  which  were  left  in  the  enemy's  hands  were  nearly 
all  brought  into  our  lines  later,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  upon  the 
request  of  our  authorities.  The  dead  could  not  be  recovered. 
Upon  the  pretence  that  it  would  reveal  important  military 
information,  permission  to  have  men  go  over  from  our  side 
and  search  for  the  dead  and  bring  them  back  or  bury  them, 
was  refused.  That  the  real  motive  was  to  conceal  their 
neglected  condition  seems  more  probable.  What  military 
information  a  hundred  or  so  men,  searching  in  the  thick  woods 
of  the  Chancellorsville  battle  field  could  glean,  is  hard  to 
imagine. 

All  exaggeration  aside,  the  enemy  frequently  did  not  give 
civilized  attention  to  the  Union  dead  that  the  fortunes  of  war 
left  in  their  hands.  Sometimes  they  buried  them  after  a 
fashion,  but  frequently  they  did  not.  This  we  know,  sad  to 
relate,  was  the  case  at  Chancellorsville.  Those  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  who  re-enlisted  as  veterans  camped  upon  this  battle- 
field, and  were  over  the  ground  upon  which  the  regiment 
fought,  after  Lee's  surrender,  in  18G5.  It  may  be  well  ta 
state  furthermore  that  they  had  marched  there  all  the  way 
from  Nashville,  Tenn.,  by  way  of  Atlanta  and  Savannah 
Georgia,  up  through  the  Carolinas  and  Virginia.  They  not 
only  found  a  large  number  of  skeletons  which  had  been  scv 
poorly  buried  as  to  have  been  uncovered  bv  animals,  and 
even  by  the  wash  of  the  rain,  but  they  also  found  many  which 
had  evidently  never  been  buried  in  anv  way.  Some  of  these 
last  had  been  their  comrades  in  the  Twenty-seventh, 
identified  beyond  all  question.  There  was  no  excuse  for  not 
burying  the  dead  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  beyond  mere  inhuman 
carelessness,  as  the  ground  where  our  dead  fell  was  open,  with 
nothing  to  conceal  a  dead  body  from  sight.  The  veterans  very 
properly  halted  in  their  march  homeward,  long  enough  to 
give  respectable  interment  to  the  bones  of  these  unburied 
heroes. 

The  bringing  in   of  the   wounded    from    Chancellorsville 

was  the  occasion  of  the  usual  number  of  surprises.     A   few 

were    brought     in   and   eventually  recovered    whom    we   had 

thought,  from  what    seemed   to   be   good  evidence,  had   been 
23 


354  HISTORY    OF    THE 

killed.  On  the  other  hand,  many,  whom  we  believed  to  be 
prisoners  only,  wMth  or  without  wounds,  were  now  found 
to  have  been  killed,  or  mortally  wounded,  while  a  few  remain 
unaccounted  for  to  this  day.  Precious  as  their  lives  were  to 
themselves,  they  gave  them  to  their  country  in  such  an  incon- 
spicuous way  that  even  the  fact  could  not  be  certainly  known. 
Those  of  the  wounded  able  to  stand  the  journey  were  mostly 
sent  on  at  once  to  the  hospitals  at  Washington  and  places 
farther  north.  But  the  Twelfth  Corps  had  an  immense  hos- 
pital, in  tents,  near  Aquia  Creek  Landing.  The  worst  cases 
were  kept  there,  of  course.  Several  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
boys  were  of  this  number.  They  were  visited  by  members  of 
the  regiment  as  often  as  seemed  possible,  under  the  circum- 
stances. 

Poor  fellows!  There  was  the  maximum  of  human  suf- 
fering in  that  hospital.  Severe  wounds  that  had  received  only 
the  merest  excuse  in  the  way  of  attention  for  ten  days  after 
being  inflicted,  with  the  patient  almost  entirely  destitute  of 
bedding,  shelter  or  food,  and  worse  than  destitute  of  svmpathy 
or  cheer,  might  well  be  complicated  and  hopeless  at  the  end 
of  that  time,  if  not  so  at  first.  Think  of  an  active,  spirited 
young  fellow  of  tw'enty,  tingling  with  life  and  energy  to  his 
finger  tips  before  now,  doomed  to  lie  in  one  position  on  his 
back  for  eleven  long  months,  his  thigh  bone  shattered  by  a 
musket  ball,  four  inches  of  it  removed,  and  his  limb  held  in  a 
swing,  suspended  from  above  !  That  was  a  Twenty-seventh 
soldier.  He  never  fully  recovered  from  the  shock  and  died 
soon  after  the  war.  His  case  was  only  an  example  of  many, 
many  others. 

Several  members  of  the  regiment  died  at  this  hospital 
before  we  left  Staff"ord  Court  House.  In  diaries  and  letters  in 
possession  of  the  writer  are  some  very  impressive  facts  con- 
cerning these  men.  What  a  high  type  of  citizenship  and  man- 
hood they  exemplified?  Rome  and  Sparta,  in  their  palmiest 
days,  could  furnish  nothing  better.  After  a  most  determined, 
persistent  struggle  for  life,  when  they  finally  became  con- 
vinced that  there  was  no  longer  any  ground  for  hope,  these 
courageous,  devoted  ones,  sent  messages  of  love,  comfort  and 
cheer  to  the  dear  friends  in  the  far  away  Indiana  home,  while 
their  parting  words  to  comrades  in  the  regiment  were  as  stir- 
ring as  high  bugle  notes.  More  than  one  of  them  said  it  was 
hard  for  him  to  die,  life  had  seemed  full  of  promise  and  he  had 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  COO 

looked  out  upon  it  with  fond,  ardent  hopes  and  ambitions. 
But  inasmuch  as  the  interest  of  the  country  required  it,  he 
could  die  cheerfully.  \Vith  his  last  breath  he  exhorted  to 
Loyalty  and  Courage  and,  "  Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery 
of  his  couch  about  him  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams,"  so 
he  closed  his  eyes  to  all  earthly  things. 

As  the  warm  season  advanced  there  was  uneasiness  among 
the  authorities  concerning  the  healthfulness  of  the  army,  if  it 
should  remain  in  the  region  occupied  by  it  so  long.  After 
infinite  cleaning  and  readjusting  we  finally  moved  our  camp 
bodily,  on  the  27th  of  May.  Our  new  camp  was  located  south- 
east of  where  we  had  been  so  long,  near  that  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Seventh  New  York. 

June  4th,  we  had  marching  orders.  We  packed  up  on 
short  notice  and  were  ready  to  go.  All  day  we  waited, 
momentarily  expecting  orders  to  start.  No  orders  came  and 
at  night,  by  some  sort  of  authority,  we  unpacked,  put  up  our 
tents  again  and  went  to  bed.  These  were  the  orders  that  it 
was  said  nothing  was  known  about    at  corps  headquarters. 

June  9th,  the  paymaster  came  again,  on  one  of  his  always 
acceptable  visits.  He  paid  us  for  two  months.  It  may  not 
have  been  the  best  of  money,  badly  depreciated,  as  is  now 
pointed  out,  but  it  was  far  better  than  none. 

We  now  drilled  regularly,  every  day.  Duty  was  not  too 
hard,  merely  enough  to  drive  away  ennui.  It  is  a  pleasant 
reminiscence  to  this  day  to  call  up  the  times  in  camp  when 
the  regular  routine  went  forward  without  interruption,  each 
day,  each  hour  almost,  having  its  duties,  but  none  of  them 
being  burdensome. 

Our  ranks  during  these  days  were  also  filling  up  some- 
what from  returning  convalescent?,  those  who  had  been  sick 
or  wounded.  Some  who  had  been  away  on  detached  duty 
also  returned  at  this  time.  There  were  always  some  men 
away  in  the  medical,  commissary,  or  quartermaster's  depart- 
ment, or  at  some  of  the  numerous  headquarters. 

On  the  13th  of  June,  we  moved  camp  a  second  time. 
This  move  was  military,  rather  than  sanitary.  It  was  to  put 
the  brigade  or  division  in  the  right  position  with  reference  to 
some  moves  that  had  recently  been  made  by  others.  At 
least,  so  it  was  said.  But  the  move  was  too  military,  or 
proved  to  be, — too  much  like  so  many  other  military  moves  of 
the  period, — a  blunder. 


356  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  day  was  very  hot.  We  started  at  sunrise  and 
marched  some  five  miles  southeast,  across  the  railroad  and 
nearer  the  Potomac  river.  Here,  under  orders,  ^ve  established 
our  camp  upon  a  high  hill,  where  the  abandoned  winter 
quarters  of  another  regiment  were  still  standing.  These  we 
took  down,  and  carried  the  fragments  some  distance,  pitching 
them  over  a  precipice  into  a  deep  ravine.  The  dried  mud, 
with  W'hich  the  huts  had  been  daubed,  and  all  the  other  small 
litter,  we  carried  in  our  rubber  blankets  and  disposed  of  like- 
wise. With  brush-brooms  we  then  carefully  and  laboriously 
swept  the  ground  perfectly  clean  and  bare,  far  beyond  where 
our  guard  line  was  to  be. 

After  this,  each  mess,  acting  under  instructions,  built 
bunks  or  raised  beds  to  sleep  on.  Each  one  was  eighteen  inches 
from  the  ground,  supported  by  forks.  The  bottoms  of  these 
bunks  were  made  of  small  pine  poles,  laid  close  together  and 
covered  with  fine  pine  boughs,  our  regular  resort  for  a  soft 
bed.  ''  Soldier  feathers  "  we  called  them.  Over  these  bunks 
we  stretched  our  shelter  tents,  high  enough  up  to  give  us 
comfortable  room  under  them.  The  whole  plan  and  arrange- 
ment was  good.  The  location  on  the  high  hill  was  admira- 
ble. It  afforded  us  a  view^  of  a  wide  sweep  of  country  and 
gave  us  the  benefits  of  every  breeze,  from  every  direction. 
Already  w^e  began  to  enjoy  these  things  in  anticipation.  It 
had  required  the  entire  day,  a  busy,  toilsome  one,  too,  to  march 
so  far  and  do  so  much  hard  work.  But  we  were  in  good 
heart.  We  were  nicely  fixed  now.  Xo  chance  for  filth  or 
dampness.  Xo  more  sleeping  on  the  ground.  In  fact,  would 
you  believe  it  .^   no  sleep  for  us  anywhere  that  night! 

Just  w^hen  we  had  about  finished  everything,  beds  ready 
spread;  supper  cooked;  night  hanging  her  sable  curtains 
aroimd  us,  dreadfully  fatigued,  all  that  remained  to  do  was 
to  eat  and  then — "  Tired  nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy 
sleep."  What  is  that  we  hear!  Is  that  drummer  stringing  up 
his  drum?  Why,  mercy  on  us,  it's  the  Long  Roll!  In  less 
than  an  half  an  hour  our  supper  is  gulped  down,  our  knap- 
sacks, like  John  Brown's,  are  "strapped  upon  our  backs,"  our 
lovely  camp  is  dismantled,  and  we  have  started,  tired  and 
sleepy  as  we  are,  on  an  all  night's  march.  Those  who  have 
done  a  hard  day's  labor,  out  in  the  sun,  in  the  Spring  or  early 
Summer,  when  not  much  used  either  to  the  labor  or  exposure^ 
will  appreciate  our  situation. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  357 

The  invasion  of  the  North  had  been  decided  upon  by  the 
leaders  of  the  rebellion.  If  the  dark  cloud  of  Chancellors- 
ville  had  any  silver  lining,  it  was  this  :  The  Southern  leaders 
were  so  inflated  by  it  that  it  gave  them  wild  and  unreasona- 
ble visions  of  conquest  and  tribute.  This,  in  turn,  gave  the 
people  of  the  North  another  rude  but  much  needed  awaken- 
ing from  their  apathy  concerning  the  spirit  and  aims  of  the 
insurgents,  and  afforded  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  another 
chance  to  grapple  with  its  foe  under  more  favorable  condi- 
tions. 

This  iTiovement  of  the  rebels  began  on  the  9th  or  10th  of 
June,  and  was  known  to  our  authorities  even  before  it  began. 
It's  full  scope  was,  of  course,  not  known,  as  that  was  only 
tentative  in  the  minds  of  the  Southern  leaders  themselves  ;  but 
even  that  was  outlined  in  the  information  in  possession  of  our 
people.  It  seems  passing  strange,  therefore,  that  we  should 
have  had  such  a  very  excessive  day's  toil  put  upon  us,  to  be 
followed  by  such  a  wearisome  and  altogether  unbearable 
night's  march,  when  a  move  was  so  certain,  within  a  day  or 
two  at  farthest. 

With  almost  the  usual  cheerfulness  and  gaity,  the  column 
marched  away  from  the  light  of  our  burning  camp  conven- 
iences, into  the  murky  darkness.  Stepping  off  briskly,  we  had 
not  gone  a  mile  until  each  man  was  brought  up  short,  by  run- 
ning against  his  hie  leader.  This  was  repeated  a  hundred 
times  during  the  night.  The  roads  were  gorged  witli  artillery 
and  trains.  Sometimes  we  went  a  mile  and  sometimes  not 
more  than  two  rods,  then  halted,  not  to  break  ranks  and  rest, 
but  to  stand  expectantly  in  the  road  and  wait.  Recent  heavy 
rains,  followed  by  dry,  warm  weather,  had  made  the  roads 
hard,  but  terribly  rough,  with  multitudes  of  deep  ruts  and 
chuck  holes.  In  the  darkness  no  one  could  see  any  of  these 
impediments,  the  only  recourse  being  to  judge  of  them  bv  the 
flounderings  and  exclamations  of  those  in  front.  To-night  was 
the  only  instance  in  his  life  when  the  writer  remembers  going 
soundly  to  sleep,  so  much  so  as  to  lose  all  consciousness,  while 
walking  along  the  road.  Some  went  to  sleep  in  this  way  so 
soundly  that  they  fell  headlong  on  the  grouiul  without  wak- 
ing up.  The  strain  upon  them  was  more  than  thev  could  en- 
dure. 

About  daylight  the  next  morning  we  arrived  at  the  old 
town    of    Dumfries,    on    an    estuary   of     the    Potomac,  below 


358 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


Mount  Vernon.  There,  out  on  the  open  common,  between 
what  was  left  of  the  town  and  the  water,  we  halted,  that  is, 
stopped,  because  those  in  front  of  us  did.  Of  course  after 
such  a  hurried  starting,  and  an  all  night's  march,  we  were  not 
going  to  remain  here?  But  we  did.  Without  further  orders  or 
instructions  of  any  kind,  we  laid  out  there,  on  that  treeless, 
shelterless  plain,  all  through  that  blistering  June  day,  and 
through  the  night  following. 


E.  R.  Browx,  a.  H.  Brown, 

Co.  C,  27th  Ixd.  at  19.  Co.  I,  161st  Ixd.  at  18. 

(War  of  the  Rebellion.)  (.Spanish-American  War.) 

Two  Generations  of  Soldiers. 

The  hardships  of  a  so'diei's  life,  forsooth  !  The  real  liard- 
ships,  those  necessarily  incident  to  the  service,  were  cheerfully 
borne,  especially  by  regiments  like  the  Twenty-seventh. 
These  unnecessary  hardships  were  of  the  nature  of  injuries  and 
indignities,  inflicted  upon  the  army  by  the  neglect  and  willful 
shirking  of  duty  by  indolent,  ease-loving  staff  officers  and 
others,  of  whom  there  were  legions.  They  were  then  strutting 
and  masquerading  in  their  showy  uniforms,  and  have  been 
shouting  ever  since  over  their  distinguished  services  and  num- 
erous promotions.     A  long  day's  march,  on  the    15lh,  brought 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  359 

US  to  Fairfax  Court  House.  Eight  or  ten  miles  of  the  road  we 
had  passed  over  five  times  before,  and  all  of  it  three  times. 

An  incident  occurred  to-day,  the  like  of  which  is  always 
remembered  gratefully  by  soldiers.  While  we  were  lying 
along  the  road  resting,  the  corps  commander  came  riding  by. 
"Clear  the  way,  there !  "  shouted  a  line  officer.  ''Never 
mind,  boys,  don't  get  up  ;  my  horse  is  not  as  tired  as  you  are. 
We  can  go  around,"  General  Slocum  said,  in  a  kindly  voice. 

After  a  day's  delay  at  Fairfax,  we  moved  to  Drainsville 
and  the  next  day  to  Leesburg.  In  the  vicinity  of  Leesburg 
we  tarried  ten  days.  General  R.  E.  Lee,  of  the  Confederate 
army,  was  really  directing  the  movements  of  our  army.  That 
is,  we  were  conforming  our  movements  to  the  movements  of 
his.  So  when  we  moved,  and  in  what  direction,  was  for 
him   to  say. 

While  near  Leesburg,  three  men  of  our  division  were  shot 
to  death  for  desertion.  The  execution  was  in  the  usual  military 
form  and  was  the  first  any  of  us  had  witnessed.  But  the  writer, 
being  on  guard  duty  that  day,  saw  it  at  a  distance  only.  A 
more  detailed  account  will  be  given  of  a  like  proceeding  later, 
of  which  he  had  a  nearer  view. 

Three  days  after  our  coming  to  Leesburg,  the  first  mail 
came  to  the  regiment  since  leaving  Stafford  Court  House. 
This  delay  of  a  week  in  the  mail  service  indicated  that  all  was 
not  in  perfect  order  there  either. 

The  work  of  digging  at  the  old  fort  at  Leesburg,  putting 
it  in  better  repair,  was  done  by  orders  from  Washington,  with 
the  thought  of  a  small  force  being  left  there,  to  guard  the 
fords  on  the  Potomac  against  the  crossing,  of  cavalry,  when 
raiding  around  our  army.  It  was  hard  for  us  to  understand 
the  sense  of  it  at  the  time,  as  there  did  not  appear  to  be  the 
slightest  probability  of  our  needing  the  fort.  The  noted 
cavalry  battles  at  Aldie  and  ISIiddleburg  occurred  while  we 
tarried  here.  Not  more  than  eight  to  twelve  miles  away,  the 
cannonading  could  be  heard  very  distinctly. 

On  the  2Gth  of  June  the  regiment  crossed  the  Potomac 
into  Maryland  at  Balls  Bluft".  A  pontoon  bridge  had  been 
laid  for  the  purpose  some  time  previous.  We  were  going 
now  precisely  in  the  opposite  direction  from  which  we  had 
sought  to  cross,  at  this  same  place,  almost  two  years  before. 
Our  march,  after  crossing,  was  up  the  river,  following  the 
towpath   of  the   canal.      It    rained   all   day,   a   steady   drizzle. 


360 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


Camping  that  ni<;ht  at  the  mouth  of  the  Monocacy,  we 
marched  next  day,  still  along  the  canal,  to  a  mile  beyond 
Petersville. 

The  movements  in  which  we  had  a  direct  part  for  the  last 
two  days  constituted  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  change  in 
army  commanders,  which  occurred  at  this  time.  It  was  Gen- 
eral Hooker's  plan  to  pusli  a  column  up  the  Potomac,  threat- 
ening, if  not  attacking,  Lee's  communications.  The  authori- 
ties at  Washington  did  not  approve  of  this.  They  feared,  if 
our  army  hugged  the  river  and  the  mountain  ranges  so  closely, 
Lee  might  suddenly  swing  around  and  interpose  between  us 
and  Baltimore  and  Washington.  This  complication,  with 
others,  led  to  Hooker's  resignation.  The  Washington  authori- 
ties may  have  been  wrong  then,  as  they  were  so  many  other 
times,  but  there  was  a  Providence  in  it.  The  Almighty  was 
watching  over  the  destinies  of  the  Republic,  and  it  could  not 
be  that  Hooker  would  be  in  command  at  Gettysburg. 


Maj.-Gen.  Geo.  G.  Meade, 

(A  good  portrait  of  him  in  1863.     Commanded  Army  of  the 
Potomac  at  Gettysburg.) 


The  appointment  of  General  Meade  was  received  among 
us  in  a  very  quiet,  undemonstrative  way.  There  was  no 
strong    feeling   one   way    or    the  other  as  to   him    personally. 


TWENTY-SEVEXT}!    IXDIAXA.  361 

The  change,  however,  from  Hooker  to  him  unquestionably 
increased  the  confidence  and  buoyed  up  the  spirits  of  the  men 
of  the  Twenty-seventh.  Little  that  was  definite  was  known 
of  Meade  among  us.  We  had  seen  him  a  few  times,  and 
knew  that,  as  the  commander  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  he  was 
ranked  among  the  capable  and  rising  men  of  the  army.  His 
order  assuming  the  command  was  received  with  favorable 
comments.  It  had  an  evident  tone  of  modesty  about  it,  and 
modesty  was  a  great  rarity  in  those  parts.  It  would  not  be 
the  least  exaggeration  to  say  that  it  was  always  a  little  scarce 
in  the  Eastern  army. 

A  change  in  plans  was  evident,  in  the  direction  of  our 
march  on  the  following  day,  the  28th.  We  turned  sharply 
back,  almost  in  the  opposite  direction  from  what  we  had  been 
going,  and  at  a  pace  that  indicated  decision.  We  passed 
through  Pentonville  and  Jefferson  and  camped  near  Fredrick 
City. 

This  seemed  the  most  like  home  to  our  boys  of  any  place 
this  side  of  Indiana.  How  kindly  and  hospitable  the  people 
were,  and  what  a  land  of  glorious  plenty  surrounded  it!  The 
contrast  between  the  utter  waste  and  desolation  of  that  por- 
tion of  Virginia  bordering  on  the  Potomac,  and  this  section  of 
Maryland,  as  we  saw  it,  can  scarcely  be  imagined.  On  the  one 
side  were  no  growing  crops ;  fields  were  entirely  bare  and 
almost  every  fence  rail  gone;  not  a  horse,  cow,  pig  or  fowl 
could  be  seen  in  a  day's  march.  North  of  the  Potomac, 
everywhere,  were  vast  fields  of  magnificent  wheat,  just  ready 
for  the  reaper;  corn  was  in  tassel  and  shooting  out  its  silken 
ears  ;  while  meadows,  orchards  and  gardens,  most  abundant 
and  luxurious,  were  to  be  seen  on  every  hand.  To  these  were 
added  live-stock  and  poultry  of  all  kinds,  in  both  quantity 
and  quality,  surpassing  almost  any  other  section  of  the  United 
States. 

The  city  of  Fredrick,  as  on  the  occasion  of  our  otiier 
visits,  was  overflowing  with  plenty.  In  fact,  it  was  in  some 
respects,  rather  too  overflowing  for  the  best  order  and  discipline 
of  the  army.  As  we  marched  out  on  the  road  leading  north, 
the  next  morning,  the  fence  corners  were  well  filled  with  sol- 
diers who  had  not  been  losing  sleep  and  who  were  not  usually 
guilty  of  straggling.  Many  others,  who  kept  along  with  the 
column,  found  it  necessary  to  occupy,  first  one  side  of  the  broad 
road    and   then    the  other.     The   whole  Twelfth  Army  Corps 


362  HISTORY    OF    THE 

was  not  drunk,  however.  There  were  a  few  notable  excep- 
tions. The  steady,  drizzling,  rain  which  was  falling,  helped 
to  cool  the  brain  and  restore  those  in  need  of  it  to  a  normal 
condition  ;  but  the  sloppy  roads  put  those  in  a  sorry  plight 
whose  attitude  varied  occasionally  from  the  perpendicular. 

We  hear  something  in  recent  years  about  certain  classes 
of  persons  being  refused  accommodations  at  hotels,  chiefly  on 
on  account  of  the  circumstance  of  their  color.  The  reason 
back  of  that  seems  to  be  that  certain  other  classes  refuse  to  be 
found  in  their  company.  Since  being  at  Fredrick  this 
this  time  the  writer  has  had  a  clearer  understanding  of  such 
matters,  though  the  question  of  color  was  not  then  raised  with 
him.  He  and  a  comrade,  now  a  gentleman  of  wealth,  leisure 
and  social  dignity  in  one  of  the  large  cities  of  Indiana,  dropped 
into  a  restaurant  at  Fredrick  for  a  dish  of  ice  cream.  The 
place  was  crowded,  and  without  thinking  at  all  of  what  the 
direful  consequences  might  be,  we  took  seats  at  a  table  at 
which  were  seated  two  lieutenants,  about  our  own  age,  resplen- 
dent in  blue  and  gold.  Instantly  they  forsook  the  table,  leav- 
ing their  dishes  entirely  untasted.  If  they  had  been  suddenly 
exposed  to  some  deadly  contagion  they  could  not  have  bolted 
out  more  unceremoniously.  The  reason  was  that  they  could  not 
eat  at  the  same  table  Avith  enlisted  men  !  The  landlady  explained 
later  that  they  had  expressly  stipulated  that  in  no  case  was  this 
to  be  allowed.  While  she  was  busy  we  had  come  in,  and  had 
unwittingly  broken  over  so  obvious  and  necessary  a  rule. 
But,  inasmuch  as  the  pay  had  been  in  advance,  the  landlady 
had  no  reason  to  feel  badly  over  it,  and  the  two  Indiana  sol- 
diers surely  did  not ;  so,  if  anybody  did,  it  was  the  two  bloom- 
ing lieutenants. 

Most  of  the  way  to  Pennsylvania,  after  leaving  Fredrick, 
the  infantry  marched  through  the  fields,  on  either  side  of  the 
road,  giving  up  the  latter  wholly  to  the  artillery  and  trains. 
Frequently  several  columns  moved  on  parallel  lines.  Mounted 
pioneers  kept  ahead,  selecting  the  best  routes,  clearing  away 
obstructions  and  using  the  fences  and  other  materials  at  hand 
to  fill  up  the  ditches  and  bridge  the  smaller  streams. 

There  were  many  advantages  in  moving  in  this  way,  the 
most  important  being  that  the  army  could  move  farther  in  the 
same  time,  and  in  a  more  compact,  aggressive  or  defensive 
mass.  It  was  also  easier  on  the  men.  There  were  no  tedious 
delays  in  starting  in  the    morning,  or  late   arrivals  in   c;imp  at 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  36B 

night,  while  the  yielding  soil  of  the  fields  was  more  grateful 
to  the  feet  than  the  hard  surface  of  the  roads. 

The  country  passed  through  was  mostly  open  and,  in  a 
general  way,  rather  level.  It  was  a  sight  to  stir  the  blood,  as, 
from  an  elevation,  one  could  look  over  a  stretch  of  country 
and  everywhere  see  thousands  upon  thousands  of  our  veterans  in 
blue.  Slowly  moving  northward,  it  required  but  slight  reflec- 
tion to  be  impressed  with  the  grandeur  of  their  mission,  as 
well  as  that  of  their  appearance.  The  panoplied  hosts  of 
Freedom,  they  were  the  champions  of  the  Union  of  the  States, 
and  of  the  hopes  of  all  humanity  in  self-government.  It  was 
known,  even  then,  that  they  were  sturdily  advancing  to  an 
encounter  that  would  shake  the  world. 

There  must  have  been  something  unusual  about  the  spirit 
of  the  army  on  this  march.  As  a  rule  there  was  considerable 
noise  on  a  march,  unless  men  were  very  tired  from  long  con- 
tinued and  extreme  effort.  They  joked  each  other,  guyed 
stragglers  or  citizens,  whom  they  met  along  the  way,  and 
cheered  at  whatever  they  happened  to  see.  Men  were  com- 
monly ready  to  cheer  anything  from  a  drove  of  woolly- headed 
little  darkies,  to  a  division  sweeping  over  the  enemy's  entrench- 
ments— one  of  the  sublimest  sights  ever  vouchsafed  to 
human  eyes.  But  a  member  of  the  Twenty-seventh  records 
in  his  diary,  that  we  marched  nearly  two  hundred  miles 
without  seeing  anything  to  evoke  a  cheer,  and  scarcely 
anything  to  laugh  at.  Some  of  the  exhuberance  and  flow  of 
animal  spirits  which  usually  characterized  the  men  must 
have  been  absent.  The  writer,  while  temporarily  on  detached 
duty,  saw  a  division  of  another  corps,  on  its  way  to  the  field 
of  Gettysburg,  after  the  battle  had  been  joined.  So  silent 
were  they  that  he  had  no  warning  whatever  of  their  approach, 
until  their  head  of  column  filed  around  a  turn  in  the  road.  The 
impression  was  so  peculiar  that  it  has  remained  with  him 
ever  since.  In  regular  formation,  a  knot  of  mounted  officers 
in  front  and  rear  of  each  regiment,  the  men  in  perfect  ranks, 
in  files  of  four,  line  officers  and  file  closers  on  either  side,  all 
were  reaching  out  in  long,  rapid  steps.  Regiment  after  regi- 
ment fairly  glided  by,  with  no  word  spoken,  that  could  be 
heard  a  rod  away. 

At  a  village  near  the  Pennsylvania  line,  a  group  of  young 
ladies  stood  by  the  way-side  and  sang  patriotic  songs.  This 
brought    out    round   after    round   of   rousing   cheers    from    the 


B64  HISTORY    OF    THE 

troops.  They  were,  in  all  probability,  as  much  pleased  to  see 
the  loyal  girls  as  to  hear  the  loyal  songs. 

The  second  day  after  leaving  Fredrick  a  band  of  roving 
rebel  scouts  caused  a  flurry  in  our  column  and  a  slight  delay. 
Some  rebel  cavalry  was  passing  somewhere  to  the  eastward  of 
us, on  one  of  their  periodical  rides  around  our  army.  Those  in 
question  now  must  have  been  part  of  this  force.  As  we  were 
moving  quietly  along,  with  scarcely  a  thought  of  the  enemy — 
bang!  bang!  went  a  few  guns  ahead  somewhere.  It  was  said 
then  that  the  commanding  officer  of  one  of  the  newer  regi- 
ments, which  happened  to  be  leading  that  day,  claimed  that  his 
men  had  not  been  instructed  in  the  skirmish  drill,  and  begged 
that  some  other  regiment  be  brought  to  the  front.  At  all 
events,  those  in  advance  of  the  Twenty-seventh  moved  to  the 
side  of  the  road  and  we  went  forward  at  a  double-quick.  It 
was  the  old  story,  however,  the  mounted  raiders  being  careful 
to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  infantry.  When  we  arrived  at  the 
front,  and  had  thrown  forward  our  skirmishers,  they  had  van- 
ished. 

Early  in  the  evening  of  June  80th,  we  camped  half  a  mile 
north  of  Littlestown,  Pennsylvania.  We  were  at  last  upon 
free,  northern  soil.  The  line  between  Maryland  and  Pennsyl- 
vania is  the  original  "  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,"  so  often  men- 
tioned in  the  discussions  on  slavery  before  the  war.  This  line 
^vas  first  surveyed  and  established  by  two  men  by  the  names, 
respectively,  of  Mason  and  Dixon.  Its  prolongation  across  the 
continent  had,  in  the  law  known  as  "  The  Missouri  Compro- 
mise," been  made  the  permanent  boundary  between  free  and 
slave  territory. 

This  June  30th,  1863,  was,  in  an  important  sense,  the  last 
day  of  an  era — the  era  of  slavery  domination  in  the  United 
States.  The  next  day  was  to  witness  the  beginning  of  a  battle 
which,  in  the  estimation  of  an  ever-increasing  number  of  peo- 
ple, marks  a  great  turn  in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 
What  report  shall  this  diminishing  band,  whose  humble 
achievements  we  are  following,  be  able  to  give  of  itself  in  this 
overshadowing  crisis? 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


GETTYSBURG. 


Little  known  before,  the  name  which  heads  this  chapter 
is  now  one  to  conjure  with.  No  other  geographical  name  in 
the  annals  of  the  great  war  recalls  at  once  so  much  of  the 
enthusiasm,  pride  and  glory  of  those  old,  heroic  days.  Around 
it  hangs  a  mysterious  and  enchanting  halo,  which  only 
increases  as  time  goes  by.  With  those  \vho  were  there  on  the 
first,  second  and  third  of  July,  18G3,  the  mere  mention  of  the 
name  awakens  stirring  recollections  and  tender  emotions. 

It  must  have  been  near  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  first  of  July,  a  fair,  pleasant  Summer  morning,  when  the 
First  Division  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  started  back  through 
Littlestown  and  filed  onto  the  Baltimore  pike,  the  direct  road 
to  Gettysburg,  distant  ten  miles.  The  Twenty-seventh  led 
the  infantry  column.  We  pressed  steadily  along,  through  an 
open,  fertile  country,  though  there  was  no  evidence  of  haste  in 
any  quarter. 

To  those  not  advised  of  the  orders  under  which  the  army 
was  acting,  our  movements  soon  became  mysterious.  The 
writer's  impression  is  that  when  we  started  in  the  morning,  or 
very  soon  afterwards,  we  heard  rumblings  of  artillery.  It  is 
certain  that  artillery  firing  early  became  so  distinct  and  rapid 
that  many  were  apprehensive  that  the  decisive  battle,  impend- 
ing some  days,  might  be  on.  This  apprehension  was  increased 
by  the  fact  of  our  keeping  skirmishers  out  so  carefully,  when 
we  could  see  so  far  ahead,  as  well  as  by  the  many  rumors  that 
always  circulate  at  such  a  time.  Still  the  pace  was  not 
increased  and,  slowly  as  we  had  been  moving,  when  we  reached 
the  hamlet  of  Two  Taverns,  half  way  to  Gettysburg,  we  filed 
leisurely  into  a  field,  under  orders,  and  went  into   biviouac. 

This  greatly  increased  our  perplexity.  The  sounds  of 
battle  ahead  of  us  had  grown  more  and  more  fierce.  There 
was  no  longer  room  for  doubt  that  a  large  force  on  each  side 
was  engaged,  and  that  musketry  firing  was  mixed  with  that 
of  the  artillery.     For  some   years   most   of  the  soldiers  of  the 


"SQij  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Twelfth  Corps  were  greatly  puzzled  over  our  orders  this 
morning.  The  corps  could  easily  have  joined  in  the  battle  of 
the  first  day.  The  distance  from  our  starting  point  to  the 
battlefield  might  have  been  traversed  by  noon. 

The  trouble  was  that  General  Slocum,  our  corps  com- 
mander, was  acting  under  the  direct  orders  of  General  Meade, 
whose  headquarters  were  at  Taneytown,  with  no  means  of 
communication  with  Slocum,  except  by  courier.  Up  to  this 
time  it  was  not  Meade's  plan  that  more  than  a  small  part  of 
his  army  should  advance  as  far  as  Gettysburg  and  while  he 
shared  the  prevalent  conviction  of  his  soldiers  that  a  serious 
conflict  with  the  enemy  was  near  at  hand,  he  was  not  expect- 
ing that  it  w^ould  begin  to-day.  Neither  commander  of  the 
two  great  armies  was  expecting  this.  Neither  of  them  realized 
that  the  opposing  forces  were  approaching  so  near  together. 

General  Meade  had  tentatively  decided  that  he  would 
offer  battle  along  the  line  of  Pipe  Creek,  and  had  partly 
matured  his  plans  to  that  end.  This  line  the  Twelfth  Corps 
had  already  passed.  General  Slocum's  orders,  therefore,  were 
to  move  his  corps  as  far  as  Two  Taverns,  and  there  await 
further  instructions. 

So,  here  we  were,  General  Meade,  at  Taneytown,  was 
farther  away  from  Gettysburg  than  ourselves.  While  we 
were  worrying  because  orders  did  not  come,  carrying  us  into 
the  battle,  the  one  from  wl.om  the  orders  should  emanate 
learned  of  the  emergency  later  than  we  did. 

But  we  had  not  tarried  long  at  Two  Taverns  before  a 
courier  was  seen  to  dash  up  to  corps  headquarters.  He  was 
followed  by  a  second,  then  a  third.  Their  horses  in  a  lather 
and  jaded,  proved  that  they  had  come  a  distance  and  ridden 
fast.  Our  surmises  that  the  arrival  of  these  horsemen  be- 
tokened a  move  for  us  were  quickly  confirmed.  They  were 
from  General  Howard,  at  Gettysburg,  informing  Slocum  of 
the  state  of  affairs  at  that  place  ;  the  seriousness  of  the  con- 
flict, the  lamented  death  of  General  Reynolds,  the  sore  need 
of  more  men,  and  urgently  requesting  him  to  bring  his  corps 
forward.  Slocum  was  not  under  Howard's  command,  but 
following  a  wise  military  maxim,  he  decided  to  march  in- 
stantly to  the  sound  of  the  enemy's  guns. 

Any  soldier  will  recall  how  a  knot  of  aides  and  orderlies, 
gathered  in  a  circle  about  their  chief,  would  break  apart  and 
dissolve  in  many  directions,  after  these  fresh   arrivals.      Thus 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  367 

it  was  now.  More  promptly  almost  than  it  can  be  told,  we 
had  received  orders  and  were  on  the  way.  The  baggage 
trains,  and  the  sick  and  disabled  were  sent  to  the  rear,  non- 
combatants  and  stretcher  bearers  were  instructed  to  report  to 
the  surgeon,  and  the  column  pressed  forward  on  quick  time. 
After  this,  those  not  in  good  form  for  marching  could  not 
keep  up. 

Every  rod  towards  the  front  Ijrought  the  various  noises 
of  the  struggle  more  distinctly  to  our  ears.  Many  who  have 
given  considerable  attention  to  the  history  of  the  battle  do 
not  comprehend  the  intensity  of  this  first  day's  encounter  at 
Gettysburg.  For  the  number  seriously  engaged,  few  other 
battles  equalled  the  first  day  at  Gettysburg  in  the  per  cent  of 
loss  sustained. 

When  we  reached  the  point  from  which  the  ground 
begins  to  break  off  towards  the  valley  of  Rock  Creek,  the 
tremendous  crash  and  din,  though  still  three  or  four  miles 
distant,  seemed  almost  at  our  feet.  As  Gulps  Hill  and  Ceme- 
tery Ridge  loomed  into  view,  we  could  scarcely  believe  that  the 
scene  of  action  was  not  on  our  side,  rather  than  beyond,  those 
heights.  While  rising  above  them  higher  and  higher,  and 
reaching  far  around  the  horizon,  was  a  cloud  of  dust  and 
smoke,  of  ever-increasing  density. 

About  two  miles  from  Gettysberg,  our  First  Division 
diverged  from  the  pike  and  field  off  to  the  right,  towards  the 
Hanover  road.  We  at  length  halted,  and  formed  line  of  bat- 
tle facing  Wolf's  Hill.  The  orders  were  to  take  possession  of 
this  eminence.  The  Twenty-seventh,  being  still  in  the  lead, 
was  instructed  to  advance  one  company  as  skirmishers  and 
follow  with  the  others,  as  a  support.  In  the  openings  along 
the  crest  of  the  hill  we  could  see  mounted  men  in  gray. 

But  when  the  men  of  Company  G,  which  was  on  the 
skirmish  line,  moved  forward  they  met  with  no  opposition. 
They  had  about  reached  the  top  of  the  hill,  while  the  balance 
•of  the  regiment  was  in  a  wooded  ravine  near  the  bottom, 
when  a  halt  was  called.  Information  had  been  received  just 
then  that  our  army  had  withdrawn  from  beyond  Gettysburg, 
and  that  the  possession  of  Wolf's  Hill  was  no  longer  desir- 
-able.  We  therefore  about  faced  and  returned  to  the  division, 
with  which,  after  some  delay,  we  moved  back  to  the  vicinity 
-of  where  we  had  left  the  pike,  at  which  point  we  spent  the 
night. 


368  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Apparently  we  bad  accomplished  nothing  this  first  day  at 
Gettysburg.  Yet  it  has  since  developed  that  we  did  exercise 
a  positive  influence  in  shaping  affairs  at  that  critical  time. 
How  much  this  had  to  do  in  determining  the  final  issue  of  the 
battle  can  only  be  conjectured.  It  appears  that,  following  his 
partial  success  beyond  the  town  of  Gettysburg,  preparations 
were  being  made  by  the  enemy  for  an  assault  upon  Cemetery 
Ridge.  All  that  was  lacking  was  the  arrival  of  a  lagging  bri- 
gade. Instead  of  hastening  forward  it  halted  back  somewhere, 
and  sent  word  that  a  threatening  Union  force  was 
approaching  the  town  on  the  Hanover  road.  The  report 
seems  not  to  have  been  fully  credited  but,  lest  it  might  be 
true,  another  brigade  was  detached,  to  go  out  in  that  direc- 
tion. 

The  Union  force  referred  to  was,  evidently,  our  First 
Division,  which,  in  the  meantime,  had  drawn  back  from  the 
direction  of  the  Hanover  road.  But  so  much  time  was  con- 
sumed in  ascertaining  the  facts  that  the  contemplated  assault 
on  Cemetery  Ridge  was  not  made  that  day,  and  did  not  take 
place  until  the  following  evening,  when  it  was  repulsed, 
after  a  hand-to-hand  encounter.  It  was  certainly  desirable, 
not  to  say  more,  to  have  the  struggle  for  the  possession  of  this 
vital  point,  the  unquestioned  key  to  the  Union  position,  post- 
poned until  more  thoroughly  fortified  and  until  more  troops 
were  available  for  its  defense. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2d,  the  Twenty-seventh  was 
ordered  to  make  another  movement,  alone,  in  the  direction  of 
the  Hanover  road.  This  time  Company  F  was  put  on  the 
skirmish  line.  After  advancing  several  hundred  yards  the 
men  of  F  encountered  the  enemy  and  a  brisk  skirmish  ensued, 
continuing  for  perhaps  an  hour.  The  enemy  was  posted  in  a 
wood  directly  in  front  of  our  line,  and  in  a  stone  house  and 
outbuildings,  somewhat  to  the  right.  Our  line  was  in  o-pen 
ground  at  first,  but  at  length  an  advance  was  ordered  on 
the  left  and  a  house,  in  that  direction,  was  taken  possession 
of.  This  strategy  not  only  prevented  the  enemy  from  get- 
ting possession  of  the  other  house,  as  he  was  endeavoring 
to  do,  but  afforded  our  skirmishers  a  position  of  some  ad- 
vantage. 

The  body  of  the  regiment  was  not  ordered  to  take  part  in 
the  action,  however,  and  there  was  no  positive  order,  or  special 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


309 


attempt  made,  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from  the  stone  house,  as 
some  have  understood.* 

Company  F  lost  in  this  skirmish  one  killed  and  four 
wounded.  The  time  occupied  by  the  movement  and  skirmish 
was  perhaps  two  hours. 

While  the  foregoing  was   in    progress.  Colonel  Colgrove 


Old  Mill  at  Gettysburg. 

Near  First  Position  of  27th,  in  McAllister's  Woods. 

was  notified  that  he  had  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the 
brigade.  General  Slocum  having  been  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  right  wing  it  gave  General  Williams  com- 
mand of  the  corps  and  General  Ruger  the  division.  These 
changes  also  brought  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fesler  into  command 
of  the  Twenty-seventh. 


♦Adjutant  Bryant  (Hist.  Hd  Wis.  p.  186)  seems  to  be  under  the  im- 
pression that  this  stone  house  was  the  same  as  the  one  on  the  bank  of 
Rock  Creek,  from  which  sharp  shooters  annoyed  our  lines  during  the  bat- 
tle of  the  3d.  Intelligent  men  of  our  Company  F  insist  that,  so  far  from 
being  the  same,  the  two  houses  were  nearly  a  mile  apart. 
24 


370  HISTORY    OF    THE 

About  the  time  of  these  changes,  our  division  moved  to 
the  position  near  which  it  was  to  make  its  record  on  this  field. 
It  had  not  been  gone  long  when  a  force  of  Union  cavalry 
appeared  in  the  vicinity,  and  the  Twenty-seventh  was  ordered 
to  follow  after  the  division. 

Marching  back  to  the  Baltimore  Pike,  we  moved  on  it 
towards  Gettysburg.  North  of  Rock  Creek  we  filed  to  the 
right,  and  found  the  division  forming  in  line  of  battle  along 
Rock  Creek  at  the  base  of  Culps  Hill  and  in  McAllister's 
Woods  opposite.  Our  brigade  was  on  the  right  of  the 
division,  and  the  Twenty-seventh  was  assigned  a  position  on 
the  right  of  the  brigade.  This  first  position  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  was  in  McAllister's  Woods,  well  down  towards  the 
old  mill.  Along  this  line  the  brigade  constructed  breast- 
works, but  in  front  of  the  Twenty-seventh  was  a  ledge  of 
rocks  which  largely  served  the  purpose.* 

Our  regiment  remained  in  this  position  quietly  until  in 
the  evening,  though  there  appears  to  have  been  some  shifting 
and  interchanging  by  other  regiments.  During  this  interval 
our  Company  A  was  sent  to  the  right  and  front,  on  outpost 
duty,  but  with  them,  also,  the  time  seems  to  have  passed 
uneventfully. 

The  experiences  of  all  of  the  regiments  of  the  brigade 
were  so  nearly  identical  at  this  time  that  Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Morse's  well-written  paper,  upon  the  part  taken  by  the 
Second  Massachusetts,  in  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  may  be 
quoted  as  describing  our  own.  He  says,  "All  was  quiet 
through  the  morning  and  well  on  into  the  afternoon.  But 
shortly  before  sunset,  the  favorite  time  for  rebel  attack,  the 
sound  of  fierce  battle  broke  out  on  our  left,  which  from  the 
horse-shoe-shape  of  our  line,  seemed  almost  in  our  rear.  This 
was  the  attack  on  Sickle's  Third  corps.      ***** 

"The  fire  of  musketry  and  cannon  constantly  grew 
heavier  and  above  the  roar  of  the  guns  the  rebel  yell  could  be 
heard  coming  nearer  and  nearer.  From  our  position  we  could 
look  across  about  a  mile  of  open  country,  in  the  direction  of  the 
fighting  ;  but  thick  woods  then  intervened  and  concealed  all 
that  was  going  on.      Every  eye  was  turned,  of  course,  towards 


*Compare  reports  of  Colonel  Colgrove  as  l)ri,trade  commander  with 
that  of  Colonel  Crane,  One  Hundred  and  Seventh  New  York  and  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel P^esler,  Twenty-seventh  Indiana,  Rebellion  Record,  Re- 
ports on  Gettysburg,  p.  812  et  seq. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  371 

those  woods,  fearing  lest  any  moment  we  should  see  our 
troops  driven  back,  and  the  enemy  appear.  This  anxiety  was 
increased  when  the  wounded  came  streaming  back  out  of  the 
woods  in  such  numbers  that  it  seemed  that  our  line  must 
have  broken.  But,  about  the  same  time,  we  saw  the  staunch 
Fifth  Corps  move  forward  to  the  support  of  Sickles,  and, 
almost  simultaneously  with  their  disappearance  in  the  woods, 
the  firing  redoubled,  indicating  that  the  fresh  troops  had 
become  engaged. 

''  Staff  officers  and  orderlies  now  came  riding  toward 
Williams'  division,  and  we  knew  that  our  turn  had  come.  It 
was  nearly  dark  when  we  filed  across  the  Baltimore  pike, 
towards  the  terrible  crash  of  arms  in  the  woods,  and  we  were 
soon  under  a  random  fire  of  artillery.        ***** 

"  When  we  marched  into  the  woods  it  was  fairly  dark, 
and  the  musketry  fire  had  almost  ceased.  The  artillery  fire 
continued  at  intervals,  but  the  indications  were  that  the  Fifth 
Corps  had  repulsed  the  enemy,  and  that  our  front  was  unbro- 
ken. We  were  halted  in  the  woods  and,  I  think,  formed  in 
line,  but  almost  immediately  orders  came  for  a  counter-march." 

The  fighting  on  this  second  day  at  Gettysburg,  as  would 
naturally  be  inferred  from  the  extract,  was  again  raging  and 
bloody.  It  was  all  done  in  a  few  hours  in  the  evening,  but 
w^as  a  contest  between  giants.  Here,  on  the  left,  where  the 
struggle  was  the  most  prolonged,  the  men  on  the  rebel  side 
were  of  Longstreet's  corps,  while  the  Union  army  was  repre- 
sented by  the  Third  Corps,  reinforced  towards  the  close  by 
troops  from  the  Fifth  Corps,  and  others. 

General  Sickles  was  the  hero  of  the  day.  He  was  cen- 
sured by  General  Meade  at  the  time,  for  taking  the  position 
he  did,  farther  to  the  front  than  the  one  he  was  expected  to 
occupy.  Others  believed,  also,  influenced  most  likely  by  erro- 
neous or  incomplete  information,  that  he  had  made  a  mistake, 
if  nothing  more.  But  the  trend  of  sentiment  is  now  much 
more  in  his  favor.  Recent  critics  appear  disposed  to  accord 
to  him  the  credit  of  forcing  the  enemy  into  battle  on  this 
ground,  instead  of  turning  the  Union  position.  If  this  was 
really  true,  posterity  will  owe  him  a  great  debt.  The  un- 
doubted thing  for  the  Union  army  to  do  was  to  fight  here  and 
now.  General  Sickles  lost  a  leg  in  the  action.  The  Twenty- 
seventh  always  remembered  him  after  his  fiery  speech  to  Col- 


372  HISTORY    OF    THE 

onel  Colgrove,  complimenting  the  regiment  so  highly,  at 
Chancellorsville. 

General  Green  and  his  brigade,  of  the  Second  Division  of 
our  corps  {formerly  our  own  "Pap"  Green),  also  won  for 
themselves  imperishable  fame,  this  second  evening  at  Gettys. 
burg.  Green's  brigade  alone  was  left  on  Gulp's  Hill,  when 
the  balance  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  moved  over  to  the  support 
of  Sickles.  During  the  interval  it  was  assailed  by  the  rebel 
column  designed  for  the  entire  corps.  Many  times  outnum- 
bered, but  favored  by  position,  the  brigade  fought  with  con- 
spicuous gallantr}-.  It  not  only  defended  successfully  its  own 
position,  but  deployed  its  line  and  held  a  part  of  the  ground 
previously  occupied  by  others. 

After  receiving  the  order  to  return  to  our  former  position, 
the  experiences  of  the  several  regiments  of  the  brigade  diverge 
somewhat.  In  fact  we  here  enter -upon  a  period  of  not  a  little 
uncertainty  as  to  particular  movements,  and  one  during  which 
there  was  considerable  confusion  and  consequent  anxiety  as 
to  the  situation.  The  exact  sequence  of  events  during  this 
period  seems  involved  in  a  hopeless  tangle.  Many  individuals, 
perhaps  most  who  were  present,  appear  to  think  that  they 
can  tell  the  story  just  as  it  was,  but  no  two  can  seem  to  agree 
as  to  details.  The  cause  of  these  troubles  is  probably  to  be 
found  largely  in  the  inexorable  closing  down  of  night  and  of 
darkness,  so  importune  for  our  side,  as  well  as  in  the  changes 
in  the  vicinity  of  Gulp's  Hill,  which  took  place  in  our  absence. 

There  can  be  little  doubt,  however,  as  to  the  more  impor- 
tant facts.  That  the  Third  Brigade  arrived  at  the  scene  of  the 
conflict  on  the  left  too  late  to  be  of  any  material  service  is  un- 
questioned. Whether  any  of  the  regiments  put  forward  skir- 
mishers, formed  lines  of  battle,  or  made  any  other  dispositions 
looking  toward  actual  hostilities,  or  whether  they  simply 
halted  in  the  column,  because  those  in  front  of  them  did,  mat- 
ters little.  No  one  of  them  took  any  material  part  in  the  bat- 
tle at  that  point. 

That  our  stay  on  the  left  was  brief  also,  is  equally  certain. 
Orders  soon  came  for  the  return  march.  And  whether  the 
rumor  concerning  the  advance  of  the  enemy  upon  our  position 
during  our  absence  was  in  circulation  among  us  before  we 
started  to  retrace  our  steps,  as  some  assert,  or  whether  it  became 
current  later,  there  could  have  been  no  hint  of  it  in  the  orders 
which  sent  us  back. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  373 

The  Twenty-seventh  returned  to  its  former  position  with- 
out delay.  As  it  approached  the  place  where  it  had  formerly 
been,  behind  the  ledge  of  rocks,  those  in  advance  could  dis- 
cern shadowy  forms  of  men,  moving  about  in  the  darkness. 
Who  they  weie  could  not  be  told.  On  being  challenged, 
sounds,  as  of  splashing  water,  was  the  only  response.  It  was 
inferred  later  that  this  part  of  the  line  had  been  held  by  pickets 
or  skirmishers  of  the  enemy  and  that,  upon  our  return,  they 
had  withdrawn  beyond  the  creek. 

But  very  soon  the  Twenty-seventh  had  orders  to  move 
out  a  second  time,  being  led  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Baltimore 
Pike.  Finding  here  the  other  regiments  of  the  brigade  the 
gravity  of  the  situation  first  became  fully  known  to  us.  The 
case  was  strongly  suggestive  of  Chancellorsville,  in  that  mat- 
ters had  gone  wrong  in  our  absence.  All  will  remember  with 
what  vehement  determination  the  men  vowed  that  the  result 
should  not  be  what  it  had  been  at  the  other  place. 

We  remained  along  the  Baltimore  pike,  resting  at  will, 
for  a  considerable  time.  As  bearing  upon  this  period  of  delay 
and  anxiety.  General  Williams  makes  a  surprising  state- 
ment in  his  official  report.  He  says  that  he  did  not  himself 
learn  of  the  advance  of  the  enemy  and  of  their  occupancy  of  a 
part  of  our  breastworks,  until  after  his  return  from  the  council 
at  General  Meade's  headquarters,  near  midnight.  He  farther 
states  that  he  then,  for  the  first  time,  as  it  would  seem, 
appraised  General  Slocum  of  these  facts.  Assuming  these 
statements  to  be  true,  and  there  is  no  ground  to  conjecture 
why  they  should  not  be,  the  delay  is  not  only  explained,  but 
the  conclusion  is  unavoidable  that  some  of  the  incidents  of  this 
wearisome  night  occurred  nearer  morning  than  some  of  us  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  thinking. 

Several  soldiers  of  the  Twenty-seventh  tell  of  a  discussion 
or  conference  between  a  knot  of  officers,  which  they  over- 
heard at  this  point.  Faces  could  not  be  distinguished  in  the 
darkness,  and,  except  when  speaking  unusually  loud,  the 
parties  to  the  conference  could  not  be  recognized  by  their 
voices.  General  Williams  and  Colonel  Colgrove  are  distinctly 
remembered,  however,  along  with  others.  The  question 
was  as  to  what  should  be  clone  in  view  of  the  attitude  of  the 
enemy.  Part  favored  an  immediate  assault,  night  though  it 
was,  with  the  view  of  regaining  the  lost  ground.  They  rea- 
soned that,  coming  in  so  late  in  the  evening,  the  enemy  could 


374  HISTORY    OF    THE 

not  be  formidable  in  numbers,  or  well  prepared  for  de- 
fence. Delay  would  enable  him  to  reinforce,  and  strengthen 
himself  in  other  ways.  Prominent  among  those  urging  such 
a  course  it  was  no  surprise  to  find  Colonel  Colgrove.  On  the 
other  hand,  no  one  seemed  to  oppose  it  strenuously,  at  least 
not  in  tones  sufficiently  distinct  to  be  recognized.  There  waS' 
only  a  murmur  of  dissent.  The  measure  was  too  radical,  and 
would  be  attended  with  too  many  risks.  The  discussion  or 
consultation  was  somewhat  prolonged.  At  length,  as  the 
party  was  separating,  General  Williams  was  heard  to  say,  in 
substance  :  "  We  will  hold  the  position  we  now  have  until 
morning.  Then,  from  these  hills  back  of  us,  we  will  shell  hell 
out  of  them." 

Almost  immediately  after  this  announcement  the  Twenty- 
seventh  started  and  again  marched  back  to  the  position  it  had 
first  occupied  in  the  morning,  in  McAllister's  woods.  There 
it  spent  what  remained  of  the  night.  If  any  other  regiment 
of  the  Third  Brigade,  whose  position  had  been  south  of,  that 
is  down  the  creek  from,  the  little  meadow,  did  not  also  return 
to  it,  the  reason  could  not  have  been  because  the  enemy  stood 
in  the  way.  On  the  contrary,  those  regiments  whose  positions 
had  been  north  of  the  meadow  could  not  return  to  them, 
because  the  enemy  already  occupied  them. 

Thus  finally  terminated  the  second  day  at  Gettysburg,  in 
the  experience  of  the  Twenty-seventh.  We  must  have  had  it 
quiet  from  this  until  daylight.  Major  Colgrove,  in  a  letter 
yet  to  appear,  says,  "  We  fought  several  little  battles  during 
the  night,"  but  by  the  word  "  we  "  he  must  refer  to  other 
troops  of  our  army,  rather  than  to  his  own  regiment.  No 
other  statement,  written  or  oral,  is  known  to  the  writer,  indi- 
cating that  there  was  much  to  disturb  the  sleep  of  the  over- 
taxed soldiers  along  Rock  Creek,  or  around  the  edge  of  the 
meadow,  from  now  until  the  dawn  of  day. 

Colonel  Morse,  in  tlie  paper  quoted  from  above,  relates 
that  Colonel  Mudge,  of  his  regiment,  and  himself  had, 
between  them,  no  other  bedding  that  night  save  one  rubber 
blanket.  Upon  this  ihey  both  laid  down,  back  to  back,  and 
slept  quite  comfortably  The  statement  furnishes  a  pathetic 
glimpse  of  army  life.  Colonel  Mudge,  a  sturdy  soldier  and 
patriot,  was  killed  in  the  action  of  the  early  morning  fol- 
lowing. 

Most  soldiers  probably  iiad  a  more  liberal  supply  of  bed 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  375 

ding  here  than  that,  though  meager  enough  always.  The 
worst  feature  in  the  problem  of  rest  and  sleep,  under  such 
conditions  as  prevailed  at  times  like  this,  was  what  to  do 
about  one's  belt  and  shoes.  With  strictest  orders  to  lay  on 
our  arms,  and  the  evident  liability  of  an  attack  at  any  moment, 
these  were  removed  at  great  risk.  Yet  they  were  very  dis- 
agreeable bedfellows,  or  became  such  before  morning.  After 
being  upon  one's  feet  so  much  through  the  day,  besides  feel- 
ing cramped  and  sore,  they  swell  and  become  feverisli  during 
the  night,  and  make  loud  and  persistent  appeals  to  be  let  out 
for  airing  and  relaxation.  The  body  likewise  protests  urgently 
against  the  long-continued  weight  and  restraint  of  the  belt. 
Whatever  was  true  here,  both  the  belt  and  shoes  were  usually 
slipped  ofT,  at  least  for  a  time,  before  morning. 

As  the  fires  are  built  under  the  great  boilers  of  a  mill 
while  most  of  the  operatives  are  asleep,  so  the  plans  which 
decide  the  fate  of  armies  are  largely  formed  and  orders  for 
their  execution  are  issued, while  most  of  the  fighting  contingent 
of  all  ranks  are  taking  their  rest.  Generals  Lee  and  Jackson, 
sitting  on  two  empty  cracker  boxes,  near  the  Union  lines  at 
Chancellorsville,  after  the  majority  on  both  sides  were  deep 
in  slumber,  decided  upon  the  reckless  flank  movement  which, 
wisely  opposed,  would  have  cost  them  their  army  ;  but  which 
really  stampeded  one  of  our  corps,  and,  infinitely  worse,  un- 
manned our  commanding  general,  and  won  them  the  buttle. 

Just  before  midnight,  this  second  night  at  Gettysburg, 
General  Meade  held  a  council  of  war  at  his  headquarters  with 
his  corps  commanders.  It  was  convened  at  a  small  farm- 
house, in  rear  of  the  cemetery,  on  the  Taneytovvn  road. 
Some  authorities  assert  that  the  room  in  which  the  council 
deliberated  was  only  10x12  feet  in  size.  While  it  may  have 
been  larger,  it  was  still  a  small  room,  with  furniture  of  the 
plainest  variety  and  well  worn.  General  Slocum  says:  "A 
rickety  bed  stood  in  one  corner  and  a  cheap  pine  table  in  the 
center  of  the  room."*  The  time  was  close  to  eleven  o'clock, 
and  the  only  light  was  that  of  our  army  candles. 

Under  such  circumstances  these  men  who,  to  the  end  of 
the  world,  will  have  a  conspicuous  place  in  history,  and  who 
we  soldiers  looked  up  to  as  occupying  very  high  stations,  met 
and  consulted  as  to  "  What    shall   be  the  oriler  of  the  day  for 


*  North  American  Review. 


376 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


tomorrow?"  Those  present  seem  to  have  been  as  modest 
and  unpretentious  as  their  surroundings.  Adjutant  Bryant 
aptly  says  they  "  were  as  cahn,  as  mild  mannered  and  as  free 
from  flurry  or  excitement  as  a  board  of  commissioners  met  to 
discuss  a  street  improvement." 

The    reply    of     General    Slocum.    our    corps    commander 
proper,  to  the  question  before  the  council  was  a  model  of  sen- 


Gex.  ^Meade's  Headqjjarters  at  Gettysburg. 

(Flir  Council  of  War  Was  Held  Here.) 

tentious  brevity  as;  well  as  military  sagacity.  It  also  showed 
that  he  was  in  touch  with  his  soldiers  now,  as  at  other  times. 
He  simply  said,  '■'■Stay  and  Jight  it  out.''  That  was  exactly 
what  the  Twelfth  Army  Corps  was  ready  to  do,  here  and 
everywhere.  No  more  fitting  motto  could  have  been  devised 
for  its  fliigs  and  standards.  This  was  the  sentiment,  substan- 
tially, of  all  the  members  of  the  council.  In  this  particular, 
as  in  others,  this  council  of  American  generals  is  historic.  It 
has  passed   into  a  proverb  that  "  Councils  never  fight."     This 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  377 

was,  therefore,  a  notable  exception,  for  it  did.  Every  member 
said  fight.     Men  of  heroic  mold  abounded  at  Gettysburg. 

It  seems  a  droll  situation  that  General  Meade  should  look 
askance  at  our  "  Pap"  Williams  during  this  con^^erence,  with 
thoughts  running  through  his  mind  not  expressed  openlv, 
somewhat  as  the  host  might  look  at  an  uninvited  guest  at  a 
wedding.  He  wondered  why  General  Williams  was  present. 
It  did  not  occur  to  Meade  that  Williams  was  in  command  of 
the  Twelfth  Corps,  temporarily,  and,  as  such,  had  been  sum- 
moned to  attend  the  council. 

The  matter  of  shelling  the  rebels  which  had  come  into  the 
position  of  some  of  the  regiments  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  was 
not  forgotten.  The  batteries  of  the  corps  were  placed  in  posi- 
tion while  it  was  yet  dark,  and  the  light  had  barely  dawned 
when  they  opened  with  tremendous  energy.  This  fierce  can- 
nonade ushered  in  the  third  day  at  Gettysburg  with  us.  It 
was  kept  up,  without  slacking  or  intermission,  for  about  a  half 
hour.  The  batteries  had  been  placed  in  groups,  so  as  to  pour 
a  converging  fire  into  the  timber  occupied  by  the  enemy.  We 
were  nearer  the  enemy  than  the  men  operating  the  guns,  some 
of  the  shot  passing  over  our  heads,  as  was  the  case  at  Chan- 
cellorsville  ;  though  we  could  not  see  or  hear  as  much  of  the 
effects  of  the  fire  as  we  had  on  the  former  occasion.  Whether 
or  not  any  "  h — 1  "  was  shelled  out  of  the  rebel  occupants  of 
Gulps  Hill,  as  General  Williams  had  threatened,  could  not  be 
told  at  our  distance.  That  a  goodly  quantity  of  that  article 
was  "  raised  "  in  their  vicinity,  by  the  torrent  of  shot  and  shell 
striking  and  bursting  among  them,  we  could  easily  believe. 

Early  in  the  morning,  also,  the  Twenty-seventh  moved  to 
its  left,  into  the  works  built  the  previous  day  by  the  Third 
Wisconsin,  This  position  was  farther  up  Rock  Creek,  and 
facing  toward  it.  On  arriving  there,  we  at  once  found  our- 
selves exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  sharp-shootefs  across 
the  swale,  at  the  base  of  Gulps  Hill,  as  well  as  from  those  more 
in  our  front.  While  the  regiment  was  in  this  position.  Com- 
pany A  returned  from  its  out-post  duty  and  resumed  its  place 
in  the  regiment. 

At  the  next  stage  of  importance  we  come  upon  another 
much  disputed  point.  With  reference  to  the  time  in  the  morn- 
ing when  the  order  was  given  which  sent  the  Twenty-seventh 
and  Second  Massachusetts  upon  their  ill-fated  assault,  the 
opinions  of  those  concerned  differ    widely.     Some   are  sure  it 


378  HISTORY    OF    THE 

was  as  earl}'  as  five  A.  M.,  while  others  are  equally  positive 
it  was  after  ten.  Some  claim  that  this  was  the  first  serious 
clash  of  arms  that  morning  on  the  line  held  by  the  Twelfth 
Corps,  while  others  assert  that  it  was  almost  the  last.  Curi- 
ously, in  none  of  the  extensive  written  data  of  the  period, 
available  to  the  writer,  is  the  hour  definitely  stated,  in  such 
language  as  to  carry  with  it  the  impression  that  the  one  mak- 
ing the  statement  meant  to  be  exact.  While  almost  all  officers, 
and  a  considerable  proportion  of  enlisted  men,  carried  watches, 
all  written  records  fail  to  show  that  anyone  happened  to  look 
at  his  time-piece,  and  was  therefore  qualified  to  state  precisely 
what  the  hour  was. 

To  this  the  official  reports  constitute  no  exception.  All 
of  the  officers  making  reports  either  use  the  indefinite  word 
"  about,"  or  in  some  other  way  give  the  reader  to  uiiderstand 
that  they  were  not  certain  as  to  time. 

General  Ruger's  report,  while  indefinite  like  others, 
undeniable  favors  the  theory  of  a  late  hour.  After  referring 
to  the  artiller}'  fire,  heretofore  mentioned,  he  describes  various 
movements  made  by  his  orders  and  others.  Then  he  adds  : 
"This  state  of  things  continued  until  about  10  A.  M.,  the 
enemy  maintaining  the  attack  with  great  constancy,  throwing 
forward  fresh  troops  from  time  to  time,  suffering  severely,  but 
gaining  no  advantage,  while  our  loss  was  comparatively 
slight.  At  this  time,  I  received  orders  to  try  the  enemy  on 
the  right  of  the  line  of  breastworks,  to  the  left  of  the  swale, 
with  two  regiments,  and,  if  possible,  to  force  him  out." 

Colonel  Colgrove,  reporting  as  commander  of  the  Third 
Brigade,  says  :  "  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  8d,  before  it 
was  fairly  light,  the  battle  commenced  on  our  left,  on  that 
portion  of  the  line  held  by  the  Second  Division,  and  almost 
simultaneously  the  enemy's  sharpshooters,  f  ram  the  breastworks 
and  large  ledges  of  rock  on  our  left,  opened  fire  upon  us. 

"  I  immediately  deployed  sharpshooters  from  the  Third 
Wisconsin  and  Second  Massachusetts  in  front  of  our  breast- 
works, covered  by  a  small  belt  of  timber,  and  returned  their 
fire  briskly  for  about  two  hours.  About  this  time  the  firing 
on  our  left,  which  had  been  very  heavy,  was  fast  receding, 
and  loud  cheering  was  heard  along  our  lines.  It  was  evident 
to  me  that  General  Geary  liad  dislodged  the  enemv,  and  had 
retaken  the  breastworks  occupied  by  him  the  clay  before. 
*     *     *     *     At  this  juncture,  Lieutenant  Snow,  of  your  statY, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  37^ 

came  up  and  said  :  '  The  general  directs  that  you  advance 
your  line  immediately.'  " 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Fesler,  as  commander  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  makes  no  statement  as  to  the  time  the  assault  was- 
ordered,  and  none  from  which  any  inference  can  be  drawn  as 
to  the  hour. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Morse,  (then  major)  of  the  .Second 
Massachusetts,  says  in  his  report,  "  At  daylight  on  July  3d, 
our  skirmishers.  Company  E,  Captain  Robeson,  became 
engaged.  Firing  was  kept  up  until  5:30  o'clock,  when 
the  regiment  was  ordered  to  charge  the  woods  in  front  of  us." 

But  in  his  paper,  quoted  from  above.  Colonel  Morse  names 
seven  o'clock  as  the  probable  hour  of  the  charge,  and  admits 
that  it  may  have  been   later. 

The  difficulties  attending  the  settlement  of  the  problem 
are  thus  apparent.  The  foregoing  quotations  are  given  that 
those  interested  may  consider  them  as  deemed  best.  The 
first  shots  on  the  skirmish  line  were  fired  close  to  four  o'clock, 
or,  to  be  exact,  at  3  :50  A.  m.  The  batteries  of  the  Twelfth 
Corps,  according  to  the  report  of  Lieutenant  Muhlenberg,  who 
was  in  command,  opened  precisely  at  4  :30. 

Colonel  Colgrove,  though  in  command  of  the  brigade, 
remained  most  of  the  time  near  his  own  regiment.  When 
Lieutenant  Snow,  of  Ruger's  staff,  was  seen  to  approach  him 
the  conviction  was  universal  among  us  that  something  serious 
was  on  hand.  Lieutenant  Snow  was  the  bearer  of  an  order  which 
most  unfortunately,  had  not  been  put  in  writing,  and  the  exact 
terms  of  which  will  never  be  certainly  known  this  side  of 
Eternity.  Whatever  they  were,  the  colonel  took  some  pains 
to  make  sure  he  understood  them,  and  whatever  understand- 
ing he  had  of  them,  he  doubted  the  possibilitN'  of  accomplish- 
ing the  end  contemplated.  A  sergeant  of  Company  F,  of  tlie 
Twenty-seventh,  was  near  enough  to  the  colonel  to  hear  his 
words,  and  he  well  remembers  that  the  colonel  pulled  his  nose, 
as  was  his  wont  when  pondering  a  difficult  problem,  and  re- 
peated, as  if  to  himself,  "It  cannot  be  done,  it  cannot  be 
done."  The  he  added,  "  If  it  can  be  done,  the  Second  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  Twenty  seventh  Indiana  can  do  it.''  After 
which  he  proceeded  to  execute  the  fatal  order,  as  he  interpre- 
ted it,  which  was  that  two  regiments  should  assault  the  posi- 
tion of  the  enemy  across  the  swale,  at  the  base  of  Culp's  Hill, 
with  a  view  of  turning  his  Hank  and   driving  him  out.      Dis- 


380  HISTORY    OF    THE 

patching  his  orderly  to  Colonel  Mudge,  of  the  Second,  with 
the  order  to  charge  the  enemy's  works  in  his  front,  Colonel 
Colgrove  communicated  the  order  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fes- 
ler  in  person.  Colonel  Mudge  likewise  doubted  the  correct- 
ness of  the  order,  as  brought  to  him.  He  questioned  the 
orderly,  "Are  you  sure  it  is  the  order .^"  When  advised  again 
that  it  was  he  said,  "It  is  murder,  but  it  is  the  order."  Then, 
in  brave  tones  he  commanded,  "  Up,  men,  over  the  works  ; 
Forward,  Double-quick!" 

But  before  the  Twenty-seventh  could  obey  the  order  to 
charge,  it  was  first  necessary  for  it  to  change  front,  a  move- 
ment which,  under  the  circumstances,  required  considerable 
time.  This  is  a  point  often  overlooked  or  forgotten  in  can- 
vassing the  tremendous  events  of  this  morning.  The  Twenty- 
seventh  was  still  occupying  the  position  which  the  Third  Wis- 
consin had  occupied  the  day  before,  which  faced  in  a  direction 
almost  at  a  right  angle  to  the  line  of  the  charge.  Moreover, 
the  Thirteenth  New  Jersey,  being  in  the  angle  between  the 
Twenty-seventh  and  Second  Massachusetts,  it  was  necessary 
for  It  to  move,  in  order  to  give  the  Twenty-seventh  an  unob- 
structed passage.  The  order  was  that  the  Twenty-seventh 
should  about-face  and  make  a  half  wheel  in  battalion  formation, 
while  the  Thirteenth  should  move  by  the  left  flank  out  of  its 
way.  But  as  the  Twenty-seventh  about-faced  and  swung 
around,  at  a  double-quick,  the  Thirteenth,  by  an  error  in  orders, 
failed  to  move  promptly  enough.  Hence  the  two  regiments, 
already  exposed  to  the  enemy's  fire,  ran  plump  into  each  other. 
For  a  brief  space  they  were  intermingled  upon  the  same 
ground,  in  some  confusion. 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  one  can  give  a  correct  account  of  how 
the  Twenty-seventh  was  extricated  from  this  situation.  Col- 
onel Colgrove  was  present  and  gave  commands  directly  to 
both  regiments.  All  who  were  present  will  remember  the 
shrill,  piercing  tones  of  the  Colonel's  voice  as  he  gave  the 
final  command,  "Twenty-seventh,  charge!  Charge  those 
works  in  your  front."  This  command  was  repeated  by  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Fesler  and  other  officers  and,  with  a  wild, 
prolonged  shout,  the  regiment  leaped  over  the  breastworks, 
where  a  part  of  the  Thirteenth  New  Jersey  had  been,  and 
was  off ! 

The  first  100  yards  was  down  a  hillside  of  moderate  slope, 
covered  quite  thickly  by  oak    and    hickory  saplings,  from  four 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA. 


381 


to  eight  inches  in  diameter.  Over  this  space  the  line  swept 
rapidly,  with  unbroken  ranks.  A  few  were  hit  during  this 
part  of  the  movement,  but  not  enough  to  make  any  noticeable 
change  in  the  formation,  or  check  the  progress.  This  was 
true  also  for  the  next  few  rods.  Those  to  the  left  of  the  col- 
ors in  our  line,  as  it  then  was,  and  possibly  others,  will  recall 
the  ghastly  spectacle  of  the  four  officers  and  several  men  of 
the  Second  Massachusetts,  lying  among  the  young  trees, 
apparently  dead,  as  we  passed  down  the  incline. 


The  Meadow  ok  "  Swale  "  at  Gettyshi  kg.   Looking 

Towards   Rock  Creek. 

The  woods  to  the  left  in  the  picture  contained  the  enemys  breast  works,  upon 
which  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  and  Second  Massachusetts  charged.  The 
point  aimed  at  by  the  Twenty-seventh  is  far  back  in  the  picture,  to  the  left  ;  the 
Second  Massachusetts  was  this  side  of  the  Twenty-seventh.  The  Second  fell  back,, 
at  first,  behind  the  stone  wall,  shown  in  the  picture. 

When  the  edge  of  the  open  meadow  was  reached,  as  if  by 
common  understanding,  the  pace  of  all  was  quickened.  The 
position  of  the  enemy  was  now  in  clearer  view,  and  the  nat- 
ural and  universal  impulse  seemed  to  be  to  rush  upon  it  The 
increased  fire  of  the  enemy,  which  was  also  perceptible,  may 
have  been  an  additional   stimulus   to   hasten  matters  to  a  con- 


S82  HISTORY    OF    THE 

elusion.  Killed  and  wounded  men  were  dropping  from  the 
ranks  more  and  more.  Officers  were  instant  and  fervent  in 
steadying  the  line  and  urging  it  forward,  while  the  men 
exhorted  and  encouraged  each  other  to  hurry  on. 

This  meadow,  or  "  swale,"  as  it  is  often  called  in  the 
reports  and  in  other  writings,  was,  at  this  time,  a  soft,  boggy 
piece  of  ground,  devoid  of  timber  of  any  kind,  and  scant  one 
hundred  yards  wide,  straight  across,  where  the  Twenty- 
seventh  struck  it.  It  dipped  slightly  towards  the  center,  near 
which  there  was  a  small  open  drain  or  ditch.  The  surface  of 
the  ground  raises  somewhat  more  rapidly  on  the  Gulps  Hill 
side,  being  a  little  rugged  and  considerably  strewn  with 
boulders,  after  the  timber  line  is  reached.  The  enemy's 
defenses  were  two  or  three  rods  back  froin  this  line. 

The  writer  would  not  venture  to  say  just  how  far  the 
Twenty-seventh  had  advanced  into  the  meadow  when  it  was 
met  by  the  scathing,  fatal  volley  which  all  remember  so  well, 
and  which  so  many  have  substantial  reasons  for  remembering. 
It  may  have  been  half  way  across,  less  or  more.  It  was  a 
terrific  volley.  It  was  one  of  those  well-aimed,  well-timed 
volleys  which  break  up  and  retard  a  line,  in  spite  of  itself. 
Major  Colgrove  says  it  appeared  to  him  to  knock  the  three 
right  companies  right  down.  The  major  must  have  had  his 
eyes  for  the  moment  upon  these  companies,  for  to  others  it 
seemed  the  same  with  other  companies.  To  those  who  had 
the  whole  line  in  view  it  almost  appeared  that  a  crevasse  had 
opened  in  the  earth  and  swallowed  the  regiment,  bodily. 

But  the  Twenty-seventh  did  not  halt,  much  less  turn 
back,  more  is  the  pity.  With  quick  glances  right  and  left,  to 
find  some  one  to  close  up  on  and  touch  elbows  with,  those 
unhurt  continued  on  and  on.  From  the  point  where  the 
deadly  volley  was  encountered  the  line  advanced  several  rods. 
Reckless  of  danger,  both  officers  and  men  forged  ahead  and 
called  and  beckoned  to  others  to  follow. 

Meanwhile  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  which  immediately 
after  the  sharp  volley  was  somewhat  scattering,  again  became 
hot.  The  men  in  our  front  had  had  time  to  reload  their  rifles, 
while  others  were  evidently  rallying  to  their  assistance.  The 
line  against  which  the  Twenty-seventh  was  advancing  was 
nearly  four  times  as  long  as  ours,  and  seemed  heavier.  The 
air  was  alive  with  singing,  hissing  and  zipping  bullets.  It 
can  readily  be  seen   now   that   our  case  was  foredoomed,  and 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  383 

that  persistence  meant  only  annihihition  ;  but  few,  if  any,  in 
our  ranks  saw  it  in  tliat  light,  at  the  time.  On  the  contrary, 
the  sentiment  strongly  prevailed  that  a  little  more  energy  and 
unity  of  effort  would  give  us  success.  We  were  invincible. 
We  must  not  and  could  not  fail.  A  supreme,  concerted  dash, 
which  we  were  capable  of  making,  would  land  us  inside  of 
the  enemy's  entrenchments. 

For  these  reasons  it  was  deemed  a  great  mistake  by  some 
that  others  stopped  to  fire  their  muskets.  The  temptation  to 
do  this  was  strong,  when  there  was  an  instant  of  forced  delay, 
with  the  enemy  in  open  view.  One  doing  so,  however,  led 
others  to  do  the  same,  and,  with  many  thus  engaged,  the 
impetus  of  the  charge  was  gone.  Then  followed  a  period 
during  which  the  enemy's  fire  was  returned  by  the  Twenty- 
seventh  with  its  usual  energy,  and  doubtless  also  with  its  usual 
effectiveness.  The  line  also  continued  to  advance,  though  not 
rapidly.  Men  stepped  to  the  front  as  they  loaded,  then  halted 
to  take  aim  and  fire.  Many  who  were  thus  fearlessly  leading, 
or  earnestly  engaged  in  cheering  others  forward,  were  shot 
while  in  the  act. 

To  Adjutant  Dougherty  is  accorded  the  credit  of  first 
recognizing  the  hopelessness  of  further  sacrifice.  His  natural 
fighting  propensity  averaged  well  up  to  that  of  a  wild  cat,  but 
he  was  cool,  calculating  and  expert.  He  is  said  to  have  first 
suggested  that  an  order  to  fall  back  should  be  given. 

Frequent  reference  has  been  made  by  different  persons,  to 
the  hesitancy  with  which  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
obeyed  the  order  to  withdraw,  when  communicated  to  them. 
The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  their  hearing  the  order  accounts 
for  this  in  part.  Of  course,  their  eagerness  arrd  determination 
to  accomplish  their  purpose  also  had  much  to  do  with  it.  It 
can  be  truthfully  said,  to  the  glory  of  American  soldiers,  that 
no  order  was  ever  given  to  desist  from  any  desperate,  or  even 
impossible  undertaking,  that  there  were  not  protests  against 
it.  And  it  was  true  here,  as  at  most  other  times,  when  a  move 
was  ordered  by  a  command  engaged  in  action,  men  deeply 
engrossed  in  the  work  in  hand  awoke  to  the  fact  after  the 
movement  began,  that  they  were  left  alone. 

Once  faced  to  the  rear,  our  line  moved  rapidly,  but  with- 
out undue  haste  or  disorder,  back  to  the  breastworks  we  had 
crossed  in  our  advance.  In  these  works  the  regiment  spent 
the  balance  of  the  day.     It  has    been  claimed  by  some  that 


884  HISTORY    OK    THE 

the  Second  Massachusetts  built  these  works  the  day  previous, 
that  is,  July  2. 

As  usual,  our  color  guard  was  the  first  to  sulTer  in  this 
assault.  After  the  heavy  volley  mentioned,  not  more  than  one 
or  two  of  them  remained.  Several  of  the  older  members  were 
still  absent,  from  wounrKs  at  Chancellorsville  ;  but  the  guard  had 
been  filled  to  the  maximum  of  nine  members,  two  days  before, 
at  Littlestown,  Color-Sergeant  Files  was  among  the  last,  if  not 
the  last,  of  the  nine  to  go  down.  With  his  accustomed  fiery  zeal 
and  courage  he  waved  the  colors  and  pressed  forward,  challeng- 
ing the  men  to  come  on.  At  length  he  was  severely  wounded, 
and  following  that  event,  the  colors,  within  a  few  minutes, 
changed  hands  so  many  times  that  no  one  has  been  found  able 
to  give  a  connected  account  of  the  tragical  episode.  It  is 
especially  to  be  regretted  that  more  than  one  who,  it  is 
believed,  during  that  brief  interval,  fearlessly  seized  the  flag, 
with  the  laudable  purpose  of  keeping  it  afloat,  was  shot  dead 
so  quickly  that  his  gallant  deed  was  not  even  definitely  noted. 
Persons  at  some  distance  saw  the  colors  successively  fall- 
ing and  being  raised  again,  while  those  nearer  by  were  too 
much  engrossed  in  the  battle  to  be  aware  of  it.  This  w^as 
possible  because,  owing  to  the  delays  caused  by  this  crucial 
experience  with  the  flag,  it  dropped  to  the  rear  somewhat. 
Various  claims  have  been  put  forward  and  various  statements 
made  bearing  upon  this  subject.  The  number  of  persons  who, 
at  this  time,  of  their  own  motion,  picked  up  the  flag  after  it 
had  fallen,  and  carried  it  for  brief  intervals,  until  they  paid  the 
penalty  of  their  loyalty  to  the  glorious  old  banner  with  wounds 
or  death,  has  been  variously  stated.  Some  place  it  higher  than 
the  facts  seem  to  warrant.  On  the  other  hand,  some  are  evi- 
dently too  conservative  as  to  the  number.  As  to  names,  that 
of  Private  Christopher  Melker,  of  Company  G.is  the  only  one 
furnished.  The  evidence  appears  conclusive  that  he  sacrificed 
his  life  here,  rather  than  see  his  country's  flag  fall  to  the 
ground. 

At  a  time  when  the  impetus  of  the  charge  was  about  lost, 
Adjutant  Dougherty  observed  the  colors  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  slightly  in  rear  of  the  line,  as  it  then  was.  He 
promptly  picked  them  up  and  bore  them  forward  himself. 
For  a  time  he  courageously  flaunted  them  in  the  face  of 
the  enemy,  aiming  in  this  way  to  enspirit  and  beckon  the  men 
forward.     The  line  was  almost  at  a  stand-still,  however.    The 


TWENTY   SEVENTH    INDIANA, 


385 


men  were  engaged  very  energetically  loading  and  firing  their 
muskets,  but  could  not  seem  to  make  much  headway.  The 
enemy's  fire  was  very  rapid  and  effective.  Having  occasion 
to  go  elsewhere,  in  the  line  of  duty,  and  not  deeming  it  best 
to  detail  a  soldier  from  the  already  depleted  ranks  to  carrv  the 


c 

> 

O 

w 

n 

w 


colors,  the  Adjutant  hastily  planted  the  staff"  in  the  soft  ground 
of  the  meadow,  and  left  them  standing  thus.  \Vhen  the  regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  fall  back  Adjutant  Dougherty  again  gave 

his  attention  to  the  colors.     He  found  them   where  he  had  left 
25 


886  HISTORY  OF  the 

them  but,  just  as  he  took  them  in  his  hands,  a  soldier  volun- 
teered his  services  to  carry  them,  and  the  Ajutant  committed 
them  to  liis  keeping.  Adjutant  Dougherty  is  not  able  to 
name  the  soldier,  though  the  statement  of  another  that  this  was 
Alonzo  C.  Bugher,  of  Company  B,  is  not  disputed,  that  the 
writer  is  aware  of. 

Two  features  of  our  experience  crouching  behind  those 
low  and  ineffectual  breastworks,  throughout  the  tedious  after- 
noon, and  until  night  closed  in,  have  become  memorable  with  us. 
One  was  the  unusually  close  and  damaging  fire  from  the 
enemy's  sharp  shooters,  to  which  we  were  exposed,  and  the 
other  was  the  piteous,  unbearable  appeals  of  our  wounded  com- 
rades, left  behind  when  we  returned  from  the  charge,  together 
with  the  heroic  eflForts  made  to  recover  them. 

The  breastworks  were  not  high  enough  nor  sufficiently 
tight  to  afford  complete  protection  from  the  direct  fire  in  front, 
They  had  evidently  been  constructed  in  great  haste,  with 
scanty  materials  and  appliances.  Stones,  logs  and  rubbish 
had  been  piled  in  a  rude  windrow,  with  some  dirt  added,  from 
a  shallow  trench  behind.  It  required  the  utmost  watchfulness 
not  to  expose  the  person  above  them,  while  a  rifle  ball  was 
liable  to  come  through  in  many  places.  Besides  the  fire  from 
the  front,  the  enemy  held  the  ground  beyond  Rock  Creek,  now 
to  our  right.  In  fact,  the  house  and  locky  ledges  on  the  hill, 
beyond  the  creek,  were  reallv  somewhat  behind  us,  and  the 
sharp-shooters  with  which  they  were  infested  had  a  raking 
fire  along  our  line,  rather  from  our  rear.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  timber,  our  position  would  have  been  wholly  untenable. 
'The  tops  of  the  trees,  standing  on  the  lower  ground,  between 
us  and  the  enemy,  projected  up  and  concealed  us  largely  from 
their  view.  The  thick  branches  served,  also,  to  stop  or  deflect 
their  bullets  to  a  considerable  extent.  With  some  exceptions, 
the  fire  of  the  enemy  seemed  to  be  at  random.  Stray  shots 
would  find  their  way  to  us,  from  several  directions,  at  almost 
any  time  and  without  provocation.  There  were  some  points, 
however,  where  they  had  an  open  range.  It  was  impossible 
for  any  one  to  remain  long  in  one  of  these  places  and  escape 
injury.  In  one  or  two  instances  persons  disregarding  this  fact 
paid  the  penalty  with  their  lives.  All  in  all,  the  situation 
was  critical.  Four  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were  killed  and 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  were  wounded  here,  during  the  after- 
noon. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  387 

But  some  had  to  have  their  fun,  even  under  such  circum- 
stances. After  learning  of  the  specially  exposed  points  along 
the  breastworks,  they  amused  themselves  by  the  common  trick 
of  holding  a  cap  above  the  works  at  those  points,  on  a  stick  or 
ramrod.  It  was  done  deftly,  as  if  a  soldier  might  be  peeping 
over.  Such  efforts  were  usually  rewarded  by  a  close  shot, 
frequently  piercing  the  cap. 

This  ruse  was  also  worked  for  another  and  more  practical 
purpose.  Men  watched  with  muskets  at  a  ready,  while 
another  operated  the  decoy.  If  a  gray  form  appeared  over 
the  enemy's  breastworks,  or  even  a  puff  of  smoke  arose,  in 
response  to  the  exposed  cap.  Union  compliments  were  sent  in 
that  direction  instantly.  This  was  not  all.  No  need  to  imagine 
that  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  spent  this  time  wholly  in 
cringing  or  hiding.  All  the  afternoon  they  were  busy,  if  by 
hook  or  crook,  they  might  fire  a  shot  where  it  was  likely  to  do 
execution.  The  problem  was,  how  to  keep  up  the  supply  of 
ammunition.  If  the  enemy  was  not  made  to  suffer  in  propor- 
tion to  the  injury  he  inflicted  upon  us,  he  is  welcome  to  the 
odds. 

It  has  always  appeared  mysterious  to  us  why  the  hill, 
across  the  creek,  opposite  our  position,  was  permitted  to  re- 
main in  possession  of  the  enemy.  In  fact,  why  that  exposed 
flank  of  their  line  was  not  attacked  as  a  means  of  driving 
them  from  Gulps  Hill,  and  of  winning  the  battle,  was  not 
apparent.  Part  of  the  time,  at  least,  the  troops  were  at  hand 
to  do  this.  There  may  have  been  obstacles  in  the  way,  not 
known  to  us.  Once  or  twice  artillery  was  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  house  from  which  the  sharp-shooters  annoyed  us  so 
much  ;  but,  if  they  vacated  it  for  the  time,  they  returned  again 
as  soon  as  the  artillery  ceased. 

If  a  battery  could  have  found  a  position  somewhere  near 
the  Twenty-seventh,  it  would  have  had  opportunities  to  do 
execution  that  are  seldom  afforded.  During  the  combat  with 
Geary's  division  the  enemy,  after  each  repulse,  would  fall 
back  behind  Gulps  Hill.  They  could  be  seen  from  our  posi- 
tion, flocking  out  of  the  timber  like  droves  of  sheep.  They 
were  largely  beyond  the  range  of  our  muskets,  but  artillery, 
throwing  canister,  or  spherical  case,  it  seemed  to  us,  might  have 
mowed  them  down  in  windrows. 

Two  other  incidents,  which  occurred  while  we  were  in 
the    cramped  position    behind  the    low  breastworks,    will  be 


388  HISTORY    OF    THE 

remembered.  One  of  our  lieutenants,  thinking  to  rest  his 
tired  limbs,  and  at  the  same  time  get  an  enlarged  view  of  the 
surroundings,  tried  standing  up  behind  a  small  tree.  It  was 
not  large  enough  to  cover  him  entirely,  but  by  standing  with 
his  side  to  it,  only  a  small  part  of  his  clothing  and  possibly  a 
little  of  his  body,  was  exposed.  Hardly  had  he  assumed  the 
position,  when  spat,  spat,  spat,  three  balls,  in  quick  succession, 
struck  the  tree  immediately  opposite  him.  At  this  the  lieu- 
tenant drew  the  laugh  upon  himself  by  promptly  resuming  his 
place  in  the  trench. 

Later  in  the  day,  three  rebels  grew  weary  of  their  situa- 
tion along  Rock  Creek,  exposed  to  the  hot  sun  as  they  were, 
and  where  they  could  not  get  back  to  their  own  side  without 
great  exposure,  so  they  concluded  that  they  would  come  in 
and  surrender.  But  before  they  reached  our  lines,  their  own 
men,  supposing  they  were  deserting  probably,  opened  fire 
upon  them.  They  therefere  stopped  in  doubt  as  to  what  they 
should  do.  At  this  Colonel  Colgrove  leaped  over  the  breast- 
works and,  running  down  to  where  they  Avere,  brought  them 
in.  It  was  rather  an  unusual  proceeding  for  a  brigade  com- 
mander, but  it  worked  all  right.  Why  he  was  not  hurt  was 
miraculous. 

As  to  the  episode  of  our  wounded  :  Some  of  them  laid 
out,  not  only  without  surgical  aid,  but  wholly  exposed  to  the 
scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  and  without  water,  until  darkness 
made  it  possible  to  go  to  their  assistance.  This  was  only  those 
not  able  to  move  without  help,  however,  and  who  had  not 
received  it  earlier.  If  the  assault  was  made  as  early  as  seven 
A.  M.,  or  even  at  nine  or  ten  a.  m.,  the  suffering  involved  is 
too  severe  to  contemplate. 

After  the  regiment  returned  from  the  unsuccessful  assault, 
the  stretcher-bearers  continued  at  their  work  of  carrying  in 
the  wounded  until  compelled  to  desist  by  the  enemy  firing 
upon  them.  After  their  work  became  hazardous,  to  the  extent 
that  one  or  more  of  them  was  hurt,  they  continued  it  until 
positively  forbidden  by  orders.  Even  after  this,  personal 
friends,  in  defiance  of  orders  or  danger,  went  to  the  rescue  of 
some  of  the  poor  sufferers.  Their  outcries  from  pain  and  thirst 
and  their  direct  appeals  for  help  were  irresistible.  In  different 
instances  they  called  the  names  of  those  who  they  hoped  might 
take  pity  on  them,  sometimes  calling  one  after  another  of  the 
names  on  the  roll  of  their  companies.       More  than  one  of  our 


390  .  HISTORY    OF    THE 

men,  when  they  heard  their  names  called  in  this  appealing 
way,  by  mess  mates  and  "bunkies,"  could  bear  it  no  longer. 
Leaping  over  the  breastworks,  like  men  inspired,  they  rushed 
down  to  the  meadow,  gathered  the  helpless,  suffering  victim 
in  their  strong  arms,  and  bore  him  to  a  place  of  safety  and 
succor. 

Why  the  enemy  should  fire  upon  an  unarmed  man,  doing 
such  a  noble  deed,  is  beyond  human  ken  ;  but  they  seemed  ta 
be  especially  energetic  in  doing  so.  No  one  ventured  upon 
such  a  mission  that  did  not  run  the  gauntlet  of  a  rain  of  lead. 

With  reference  to  this  rescue  of  our  wounded.  Adjutant 
Bryant  says,  "  An  incident  that  occurred  soon  after  the 
Twenty-seventh  Indiana  had  fallen  back  illustrates  the  heroic 
quality  of  its  soldiers.  Some  of  its  wounded  officers  and  men 
were  lying  where  they  had  fallen,  in  the  swale.  Several 
of  the  men  volunteered  to  go  out  and  bring  them  from  the 
field,  and  were  severely  wounded  in  the  attempt  to  succor  their 
comrades.  But  this  did  not  deter  others  from  the  attempt.  It 
became  necessary  to  forbid  this  deadly  exposure.  In  such 
actions,  iorming  no  part  of  general  history,  never  finding 
place  in  our  public  records,  the  knightly  courage  and  chivalric 
spirit  of  the  American  soldier  shone  out  in  deeds  worthy  of  a 
Bayard  or  a  Sidney." 

With  reference  to  what  transpired  on  other  parts  of  the 
field,  this  third  day  at  Gettysburg,  still  another  requisition  is 
made  upon  Adjutant  Bryant.  His  account  of  the  experience 
common  to  all  of  the  Third  Brigade,  can  not  be  improved 
upon.  He  says,  in  part,  "  The  silence  along  the  front  of  our 
line  from  eleven  o'clock  until  one,  boded  mischief.  All  felt 
that  a  blow  was  to  be  dealt  somewhere.  The  enemy  were 
massing  their  artillery.  By  noon  they  had  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  guns  in  position  in  front  of  our  left  center,  along 
Seminary  Ridge,  then  held  by  Longstreet  and  Hill.  A  large 
number  of  these  were  so  placed  that,  if  their  shells  should  fly 
over  the  Union  position  on  Cemetery  Ridge,  and  a  little  to 
the  southward  of  it,  they  would  find  their  beds  in  Gulps  Hill 
and  in  the  ground  occupied  by  our  division. 

"At  one  o'clock  Longstreet  gives  the  signal,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  eight  cannon  opened  upon  us.  Our  artillery, 
under  General  Hunt,  replies  with  eighty  guns.  The  enemy's 
fire  is  largely  concentrated  upon  the  point  of  our  line  which 
they  intend  to  assault  ;  but  thousands  of  the  over-sliots  of  their 


TWENTY-SEA'ENTH    INDIANA,  391 

guns,  planted  farther  to  their  left,  come  shrieking,  whirling 
and  howling  into  the  woods  where  our  division  is  crouching 
in  its  breastworks.  The  cannonade,  the  most  terrible  ever 
witnessed  in  the  new  world,  lasted  for  over  an  hour.  It  seemed 
to  us  much  longer,  and  almost  to  paralyze  our  senses.  The 
limbs  were  crashing  and  falling  from  the  trees  above  us.  Huge 
shells  were  striking  the  great  rocks  about  us,  either  exploding 
or  breaking.  Others  were  bursting  in  the  air.  Others,  with 
spent  force,  went  whirling  overhead,  with  a  screeching 
sound,  terrible  in  itself. 

"From  glimpses  through  the  woods  we  could  see  our 
artillery  on  Powers  Hill  suffering  terribly  ;  the  poor  horses, 
struck  by  shell,  leaping  high  in  the  air  and  falling  dead  ;  the 
cannoneers  working  their  guns  with  wild  energy,  while  shots 
fell  about  them  at  every  second.  A  glimpse  on  the  Baltimore 
pike,  which  we  could  get  looking  up  the  vista  of  the  swale, 
showed  the  crowd  of  wounded  artillerymen,  stragglers  and 
non-combatants  scampering  to  the  rear.  The  hour  seemed  an 
age.  Shells  are  bursting  on  all  sides,  in  front,  in  rear,  over- 
head. General  Meade's  headquarters,  to  the  west  of  our  posi- 
tion, on  the  Taney  town  road,  an  old  stone  farm-house,  is  rid- 
dled with  balls.  .Some  of  his  staff' are  hit;  their  horses,  clus- 
tered about  the  door,  are  shot  down.  It  seems  almost  impos- 
sible to  exaggerate  the  terrific  grandeur  of  that  cannonade." 

It  is  the  writer's  understanding  that,  in  the  number  of 
guns  engaged  and  the  energy  with  which  they  were  served, 
this  artillery  duel,  at  Gettysburg,  has  never  been  equaled  by 
field  batteries,  since  the  dawn  of  creation. 

From  our  position  we  could  see  next  to  nothing  of  the 
infantry  engagement  which  followed  —  Pickett's  famous 
charge,  and  its  successful  repulse.  It  is  widely  noted.  It  had 
about  it  certain  theatrical,  as  well  as  tragical,  features,  well 
calculated  lo  awaken  popular  interest  and  applause.  Not 
often  in  the  history  of  the  world,  have  so  many  and  such 
superb  soldiers  on  both  sides,  met  in  fierce  and  deadly  conflict, 
in  such  an  open  country,  with  such  interesting  and  picturesque 
surroundings,  and  such  momentous  issues  involved.  Never 
did  men  wage  war  more  heroically.  Yet  this  was  not  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  at  least  not  all  of  it.  It  was  not  as  con- 
spicuous in  actual  blood-letting  as  is  sometimes  thought. 

The  final  termination  of  Pickett's  charge,  as  it  appeared 
to    us,    is    also    graphically    described    by    Adjutant    Bryant. 


392 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


"  During  this  attack  and  its  terrific  musketry  fire,  on  the  left 
center,  we  held  our  line  on  Gulps  Hill  in  breathless  suspense  ; 
for  we  knew  that,  with   our   center   broken,  the  plight  of  our 


army  was  desperate.  Soon  a  wild  cheering,  so  different  from 
the  rebel  yell,  swept  along  our  lines  towards  us.  As  regi- 
ment after  regiment  brought  the   glad  Union  cheer  nearer  and 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  393 

nearer,  we  knew  that  the  issue  had  been  favorable  to  our  side, 
and  a  great  anxiety  was  lifted  from  our  minds.  Presently  an 
aide  from  General  Meade  brought  his  congratulations,  announc- 
ing tiiat  the  Confederate  attack  in  strong  force  had  been 
repulsed,  with  great  slaughter  and  the  capture  of  thousands  of 
prisoners.  What  strength  we  had  left  was  expended  in 
cheering." 

Thus  the  third  and  decisive  day  at  Gettysburg  wore  to  a 
■close.  No  recollection  or  written  account  is  in  evidence 
relating  to  any  alarm  or  disturbance  during  the  night  which 
followed.  It  rained  quite  hard,  and  many  were  wet  to  the  skin 
in  the  morning,  though  few  had  been  aware  of  the  rain  until 
then.  Rations  were  short  and,  under  other  circumstances, 
the  discomforts  might  have  borne  heavily.  But  from  our  posi- 
tion, there  was  no  sign  of  an  enemy.  General  Lee  had  at 
least  drawn  his  army  away  from  in  front  of  Gulps  Hill.  With 
the  quick  intuition  that  soldiers  acquire,  and  which  is  seldom 
at  fault,  it  was  concluded  that,  unless  our  side  assumed  the 
aggressive,  the  contest  here  was  over.  The  victory  was  ours  ! 
How  decisive  it  was,  or  how  much  more  so  it  might  yet  be 
made,  we  did  not  greatly  exercise  ourselves  over.  That  the 
struggle  had  been  unusual  in  its  magnitude  we  well  knew,  and 
that  of  the  immeasurable  loss,  by  far  the  larger  part  had  fallen 
upon  the  enemy,  we  could  plainly  see.  We  had  known  the 
desperate  humiliation  and  grinding  sense  of  shame  that  comes 
to  soldiers,  when  compelled  to  turn  their  backs  upon  the  battle 
field,  leaving  its  trophies  of  arms  and  equipments,  and  itg 
priceless  treasures  of  killed  and  wounded  in  the  hands  of  the 
•enemy  ;  and  to  have  the  other  side  do  so  this  time,  was  glor- 
ious. The  Fourth  of  July  is  often  called  "The  Glorious 
Fourth,"  perhaps  not  always  with  deep  sincerity.  The  mem- 
"bers  of  the  Twenty-seventh  have  no  difficulty,  in  common 
with  many  others  of  their  fellow  soldiers,  in  recalling  one 
genuinely  glourious  Fourth  of  July. 

When  the  morning  had  advanced  somewhat,  our  brigade 
was  ordered  upon  a  reconnoissance.  Alarching  back  on  the 
Baltimore  Pike,  we  again  cut  across  to  the  Hanover  road.  On 
that  road  we  marched  in  to  Gettysburg  and,  passing  through 
the  town,  returned  to  our  point  of  starting  by  way  of  the 
Baltimore  Pike.  On  this  circuit,  of  live  or  six  miles,  we 
saw  nothing  of  the  enemy,  except  dead  and  wounded.  We 
had  further  opportunity,  later,  of  going  over  considerable  por- 


894 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


tions  of  the  field.  No  pen  can  describe  the  appeals  to  sym- 
pathy and  the  horrors  which  were  there  revealed.  No  imagin- 
ation can  picture  them,  unaided  by  experience. 

The  killed  of  both  armies  at  Gettysburg  aggregated  con- 
siderably over  five  thousand.  If  this  number  of  dead  bodies 
alone  were  scattered  over  that  space  at  any  time,  the  sight  would 
be  one  to  remember  with  a  shudder,  through  life.  Add  to 
this  the  manner  of  their  death  and  the  condition  of  their  bodies 
— many  terribly  mutilated  and  disfigured,  now  swollen  and 
decomposed, — their  lips  as  thick  as  one's  hand,  their  eyes  wide 
open,  with    glassy,  glaring  eyeballs,  unspeakably  hideous  and 


Dead  on  Field  of  Gettvsbuyg, 

revolting.  Add  again,  a  back  ground  of  an  infinite  amount 
of  guns  and  parts  of  guns,  scattered  everywhere,  torn  and 
injured  clothing  and  equipments,  broken  wheels  and  disabled 
wagons  and  cannons,  hundreds  of  dead  horses  and  hundreds 
more  crippled,  poor,  mute  sufferers,  not  to  blame  for  war. 
Still  another  very  revolting  feature  of  a  great  battle-field  that 
might  not  be  thought  of,  if  not  mentioned,  is  that  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  besides  being  everywhere  gashed,  seamed  and 
trampled,  is  blackened,  greased  and  besmirched,  until  one  can- 
not think  of  remaining  upon  it  or  near  it.     A  member  of  the 


TWENTY -SEVENTH    INDIANA.  395 

Twenty-seventh  says  in  his  diary,  with  reference  to  this  field, 
"  May  God  spare  me  from  ever  witnessing  another  such  a 
scene,"  and  adds,  "  I  will  never  again  go  over  a  battle-field 
from  mere  curiosity,  before  the  dead  are  buried. 

Rather  more  persons  have  written  about  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  bearing  directly  or  indirectly  upon  the  relation  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  to  it,  than  upon  most  other  points  in  the 
regiment's  history.  Considerable  that  has  fallen  under  the 
writer's  eye  has  been  complimentary,  some  has  been  eulogistic. 

The  official  reports  of  our  commanders  are  taken  up,  to 
an  unusual  degree,  by  the  barest  statement  of  facts,  which 
were  voluminous  and  more  or  less  complicated.  It  has  been 
the  rule  of  the  writer  to  quote  liberally  from  these  reports, 
but  in  this  case  there  does  not  seem  to  be  anything  that  would 
add  to  the  interest  of  the  narrative,  except  what  is  quoted  in 
other  connections. 

Adjutant  Bryant's  excellent  history  of  the  Third  Wiscon- 
sin Volunteers  has  already  been  quoted  from  extensively. 
This  volume  constitutes  not  only  a  clear  and  concise,  though 
modest,  record  of  the  one  splendid  regiment,  but  is  also  inci- 
dentally an  invaluable  contribution  to  the  history  of  every 
other  regiment  in  the  brigade.  Of  the  charge  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Adjutant  Bryant  has  this  to  sa}'  :  "The  Twenty-sev- 
enth Indiana,  on  the  right,  was  terribly  exposed,  not  only 
from  the  rocks  in  front,  but  from  the  flank  ;  and  after  losing 
twenty-three  men  killed,  eight  officers  and  seventy-nine  men 
wounded,  the  regiment,  seeing  how  hopeless  was  the  eff"ort  to 
carry  the  position,  fell  back,  under  orders."  The  same  author 
adds,  in  the  same  connection:  "  Gen.  Edward  Johnson,  who 
commanded  the  Confederate  forces  on  Culps  Hill,  speaks  thus 
of  the  assault  of  the  two  regiments  :  '  In  the  meantime,  a 
demonstration  was  made  in  force  upon  my  left  and  rear.  The 
Second  Virginia,  Stonewall  brigade,  and  Smith's  brigade,  of 
Early's  division,  were  disposed  to  meet  and  check  it,  which 
was  done  to  our  entire  satisfaction."  '  This  is  a  plain  statement 
of  the  force  against  which  these  regiments  had  to  contend  in 
that  bloody  assault — one  entire  brigade  and  one  extra  regiment 
from  another  brigade — all  firing  from  cover,  upon  two  small 
regiments,  charging  in  the  open,  besides  troops  firing  on  their 
flanks. 

It  is  very  comforting  to  the  survivors  of  the  Twenty-sev- 
enth  to   have  in   recent  years  a  more  cheerful  light  thrown 


396  HISTORY    OF    THE 

upon  the  heavy  loss  of  the  regiment  at  Gettysburg.  For  a 
time  the  great  sacrifice  of  life  there  seemed  all  the  more 
grievous  because  apparently  fruitless.  It  appears  now,  how- 
ever, that  the  assault,  though  the  result  of  a  misconception  of 
the  situation,  or  of  orders,  was  not  entirely  without  favorable 
results.  On  this  point  Adjutant  Bryant  says  :  "  The  charge 
of  the  two  regiments  gave  Geary  and  his  supports  their 
opportunity.  The  Confederates  had  thus  their  attention 
drawn  to  their  left,  and  changed  a  large  part  of  their  force  to 
resist  this  danger.  This  gave  Geary  an  excellent  opportunity 
to  charge.  He  did  so,  supported  by  other  troops.  At  this 
instant  General  Ruger  came  up  on  the  left  of  our  regiment 
(Third  Wisconsin)  and,  seeing  the  situation  and  opportunity, 
he  ordered  Colonel  Hawley  to  bear  to  the  left  a  little,  and  go 
in  on  the  right  of  Geary's  line.  We  did  so,  the  regiment 
crossing  the  swale  at  a  double  quick,  by  the  left  flank.  Then 
facing  to  the  front,  we  moved  in  on  Geary's  right,  and  swept 
the  rebels  over  our  breastworks,  made  the  day  before,  and 
down  across  Rock  Creek." 

We  are  especially  fortunate,  on  several  accounts,  in 
having  a  manuscript  letter,  written  by  Maj.  T.  F.  Colgrove 
to  his  young  sister  shortly  after  the  battle.  The  major  was  a 
son  of  Colonel  Colgrove  and,  as  has  appeared  heretofore, 
served  with  the  Twenty-seventh  from  the  start,  beginning  as 
sergeant-major.  At  this  time  he  was  probably  the  youngest 
officer  of  his  rank  in  the  brigade  ;  but  there  was  not  a  more 
competent  major,  or  all  around  tip-top  soldier,  anywhere.  As 
a  level-headed,  persistent  fighter  he  was  "  a  chip  off  the  old 
block."  In  that  respect  one  type  answered  well  for  both — 
that  was  a  bulldog.  This  sister,  to  whom  the  letter  was 
written,  was  a  comely  girl,  whom  we  all  remember  as  coming 
frequently  to  the  regiment  with  her  mother.  At  this  time 
she  was  about  twelve.  The  portions  of  the  letter  of  interest 
in  this  connection  are  as  follows  : 

Camp  of  Twenty-seventh  ) 

Indiana  Volunteers,       \ 

July  22,  1868.  ) 

Dear  Sis — Shall  I  tell  you  of  the  fiery  ordeal  the  Twen- 
ty-seventh and  Second  Massachusetts  passed  through?  When 
the  massed  attack  on  the  extreme  left  wing  was  made,  on  the 
evening  of    the  second   day,  the   Twelfth  Corps    boys   were 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  397 

ordered  to  that  wing,  to  support  or  relieve  the  line.  The 
entire  Union  line  was  about  six  miles  long,  and  we  held  the 
extreme  right  of  it.  But  such  was  the  formation  that  we 
had  only  about  one  and  a  half  miles  to  go  to  reach  the  other 
extreme  flank.  When  we  arrived  near  the  position  which 
was  in  need  of  support  we  formed  line  of  battle  and  put  out 
skirmishers,  but  by  this  time  the  enemy  had  been  checked^ 
and  we  were  soon  ordered  back  to  our  former  position. 

"  Chancellorsville  number  two!  The  wily  enemy  had 
driven  out  the  few  occupants  of  our  works,  during  our 
absence,  and  had  taken  possession  of  the  same.  *  *  *  * 
We  fought  several  little  battles  during  the  night,  and  in  the 
morning  the  fight  commenced  in  earnest. 

"  After  a  few  minutes  Colonel  Colgrove,  commanding 
brigade,  received  orders  to  advance  the  line.  The  aide  de 
camp  who  brought  the  order  to  Colonel  Colgrove,  made  a 
mistake.  It  should  have  been  '  Advance  the  skirmishers,' 
instead  of  '  advance  the  line.'  Nineteen  dead  Massachusetts 
men  and  eighteen  dead  Indiana  men  are  the  fruit  of  that 
mistake. 

"  The  Second  Massachusetts  was  ordered  to  charge  the 
enemy's  works  on  our  left  and  front.  The  Thirteenth  New 
Jersey  was  ordered  to  occupy  the  Second's  place,  when  it 
should  be  vacated.  The  colonel  of  the  Thirteenth  gave  the 
order,  '  Right  face,  by  file  left,  march.'  [Describes  confus- 
sion  resulting  from  this  mistaken  order]. 

"  Colonel  Colgrove  saw  how  it  was  and,  directing  Colo- 
nel Carman  how  to  move  his  men  out  of  the  way,  added, 
'  Colonel  Fesler,  move  your  regiment  into  those  works,' 
meaning  the  Thirteenth's  works.  But  before  we  reached  them, 
we  heard  Colonel  Colgrove  say,  '  Twenty-seventh  charge, 
charge  those  works  in  your  front!  ' 

"  By  this  time  the  Second  had  nearly  gained  the  enemy's 
works,  and  were  fighting  nobly.  The  Twenty-seventh  rushed 
on,  with  a  cheer;  officers  vieing  with  each  other  as  to  who 
should  be  foremost  in  leading  the  charge,  and  the  men  striv- 
ing to  outdo  one  another  in  courage  and  daring.  The  enemy 
held  their  fire  mostly  until  we  reached  a  place  in  the  opening, 
not  much  more  than  fifty  yards  from  their  works.  Then, 
what  a  murderous  fire  they  poured  into  us  !  You  would  need 
to  see  the   melting   line  to   know.     The  first   fire   seemed   to 


398  HISTORY    OF    THE 

knock   the  three    right   companies    right   down.       Everything 
living  seemed  doomed  to  destruction. 

"  But  this  did  not  make  the  men  falter  one  bit.  I  never 
saw  them  so  determined.  Undaunted  as  ever,  they  pressed 
on.  But  we  received  orders  to  return  to  our  works.  A 
farther  sacrifice  of  life  was  useless.  It  was  with  difficulty 
that  we  got  the  regiment  back,  so  enthusiastic  were  the  boys 
in  pressing  on.  They  knew  who  they  were  fighting,  and 
vice  versa.  It  was  some  of  Jackson's  old  corps,  that  we 
have  met  so  often. 

"Geary  of  our  Second  division,  now  became  engaged 
again,  and  w^e  had  rest,  but  not  quiet.  The  enemy's  sharp- 
shooters were  exceedingly  annoying.  They  were  in  an  old 
stone  house,  to  the  right  of  our  line  of  works,  and  behind  some 
huge  rocks  on  a  high  hill,  almost  in  our  rear.  They  soon 
killed  a  man  of  Company  A,  one  of  Company  D,  one  of  Com- 
pany C,  and  one  of  Company  K,  besides  wounding  Captain 
Fesler  and  fifteen  or  sixteen  men." 

Two  or  three  brief  expressions  have  been  put  in  print 
referring  to  the  Twenty-seventh  at  Gettysburg,  that  have 
pained  and  irritated  the  survivors  since  they  first  became 
aware  of  their  existence.  In  the  report  of  the  Adjutant 
General  of  Massachusetts,  for  1868,  occurs  the  following  :  "At 
about  seven  o'clock  orders  were  given  the  Second  regiment 
and  one  other,  to  advance  across  the  open  meadow  and  take 
the  position  of  the  enemy."  After  this  follows  a  description 
of  the  prompt  movement  and  bloody  reception  of  the  Second, 
and  the  manner  of  its  withdrawal.  In  the  midst  of  this  de- 
scription is  interjected  this  sentence  :  "  The  regiment  on  our 
right  falls  back  in  disorder." 

In  the  sketch  also  of  Lieutenant-Colenel  Morse,  quoted 
from  heretofore,  a  delightful  paper  in  most  respects,  occurs 
this  statement :  "  From  my  position,  near  the  left  of  the  line,  I 
could  see  that  we  were  alone,  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana 
having  broken  w^hen  half  way  across  the  meadow."  These  two 
expressions  are  so  similar  as  to  suggest  their  common  author- 
ship, but  as  to  that  the  writer  has  no  positive  information. 

It  is  due  Colonel  IMorse  to  state  that,  in  response  to  a  let- 
ter of  a  former  officer  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  calling  his  at- 
tention to  the  words  in  his  paper,  he  has  disclaimed  all  thought 
or  purpose  of  saying  or  intimating  anything  disrespectful  or 
discreditable,  and  speaks  cordially  of  the  conduct  of  the  Twen- 


TWENTY- SEVENTH    INDIANA,  399 

ty-seventh  at  Gettysburg  and  elsewhere.  But  the  writer  still 
feels  at  liberty  to  express  something  of  the  disappointment 
and  annoyance  that  every  former  member  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  must  experience  at  finding  such  a  statement  in  print, 
more  especially  in  such  a  connection.  Whatever  meaning  the 
words  were  intended  to  have,  the  natural  and  unavoidable 
interpretation  which  readers  will  put  upon  them  cannot  be 
satisfactory  to  the  survivors  of  the  Twenty  seventh  or  to  the 
friends  of  that  regiment.  Moreover,  there  is  another  aspect 
of  the  case  that  gives  such  expressions  a  much  deeper  sting. 
It  is  more  than  strange,  it  is  amazing,  that  a  few  of  the  battle- 
scarred  survivors  of  one  of  the  regiments  of  the  old  brigade 
should  meet  and  listen  to  a  paper,  prepared  by  one  of  their  own 
number,  yet  such  an  expression  as  this — thoughtful  it  cannot 
be,  much  less  complimentary — is  the  only  one  recorded,  indi- 
cating that  there  was  any  recollection  of  another,  sister  regi- 
ment, with  theirs  in  the  same  brigade  for  three  years,  and  here 
at  Gettysburg,  if  not  at  other  places  also,  sacrificed  some  of 
their  lives  in  their  interest,  as  well  as  in  the  interest  of  flag 
and  country.      This  is  a  species  of  comradship  that   kills! 

As  to  the  record  in  the  Adjutant-General's  office  of  Massa- 
chusetts, it  will  likely  stand  as  it  is,  until  time  shall  be  no 
longer.  The  undeniable  truth  is,  however,  that  it  conveys  erro- 
neous impressions;  it  cannot  fail  to  do  that  much,  even  if  not 
interpreted  as  a  direct,  intentional  stigma.  It  is  the  more  offen- 
sive to  those  concerned,  because  so  positively  contrary  to  the 
facts,  and  so  uncalled  for  in  everv  way. 

The  Twenty-seventh  neither  fell  back  in  the  sense  which 
seems  to  be  implied,  that  is,  because  it  could  not  or  would  not 
stand  and  face  the  exigencies  of  the  situation  ;  nor  was  there 
disorder  in  its  ranks  when  it  did  return  to  the  position  from 
which  it  had  started.  On  the  contrary,  the  Twenty-seventh 
forged  ahead  and,  undaunted  and  undismayed,  it  was  perse- 
vering in  its  assigned  duty  until  it  was  ordered  to  desist  and 
return  to  its  own  side  of  the  swale.  The  brigade  commander. 
Colonel  Colgrove,  in  his  ofiicial  report  of  the  battle,  distinctly 
avows  the  responsibility  for  this  order.  After  recounting  the 
antecedent  facts,  he  says:  "It  became  evident  to  me  that 
scarcely  a  man  could  live  to  gain  the  position  of  the  enemy. 
I  ordered  the  regiment  to  fall  back  beliind  its  breastworks." 
If  the  Twenty-seventh  had  desisted  from  the  attempted  as- 
sault  solely  upon   the  order  of  its  own  commanding  officer, 


400  HISTORY    OK    THE 

the  case  would  be  the  same.  That  is  precisely  what  the 
Second  Alassachusetts  did,  not  only  here,  but  at  Winchester, 
Cedar  JMountain  and  Antietam,  as  its  own  records  show. 
As  far  as  the  writer  knows,  no  word  of  criticism  or  insinua- 
tion has  ever  found  expression  in  any  quarter,  with  refer- 
ence to  it.  Why  should  the  case  be  diflerent  with  another 
regiment  ?  And,  concerning  the  matter  of  order,  there  is 
always  more  or  less  rot  and  affectation  in  certain  quarters  in 
an  army  about  "order."  The  manner  in  which  the  Twenty- 
seventh  moved  away  from  the  point  of  danger  at  Gettysburg 
was  very  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  Second  in  doing  the 
same  thing.  The  fact  is,  both  regiments  made  the  movement 
in  admirable  order.  Notwithstanding  the  bloody  resistance 
they  had  encountered,  the  tremendous  loss  they  had  suffered, 
and  the  deadly  fire  to  which  thej^  were  still  exposed,  they  were 
perfectly  cool,  under  the  complete  control  of  their  officers, 
attentive  to  commands,  and  ready  to  obey  any  order,  whether 
to  stand,  to  advance  or  to  fall  back!  That,  in  battle,  is  sub- 
lime order. 

In  addition  to  the  fact  that  the  Twenty-seventh  was 
obliged  to  make  a  preliminary  move  under  some  difficulties, 
and  was  therefore  not  able  to  start  abreast  with  the  other  regi- 
ment, there  are  some  other  facts  which  it  is  only  fair  should 
be  understood,  now  that  the  question  has  been  raised.  The 
meadow  was  wider  at  the  point  where  the  Twenty-seventh 
was  ordered  to  cross  it,  made  more  so  in  effect  b}'  its  obliquing 
to  the  right,  as  Colonel  Colgrove  states  in  his  report.  The 
enemy  was  stronger  and  more  advantageously  posted  at  that 
point,  their  line  being  longer  if  not  denser  in  front,  with  other 
forces  to  the  right  and  rear.  Owing  to  the  convex  shape  of 
the  enemy's  line,  the  Twenty-seventh,  when  it  appeared  upon 
the  scene,  drew  the  fire  away  from  the  other  regiment  to  some 
extent,  offering  a  more  conspicuous  mark.  There  were  no 
large  boulders  or  trees  out  any  distance  in  front  of  the  enemy's 
position  at  the  point  where  the  Twenty-seventh  confronted 
it,  neither  did  the  ground  have  a  conformation  offering  any 
foothold  or  lodgment.  The  enemy  along  Rock  creek,  in  the 
stone  house  and  outbuildings  on  the  bluff  beyond,  and  crouch- 
ing behind  the  boulders  and  ledges  of  rock  farther  down,  had 
a  raking  Hank  fire  into  the  Twenty-seventh  as  it  advanced. 

In  these  respects,  and  in  others  growing  out  of  theui,  the 
conditions    under    which   the    two   regiments    operated    were 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA,  401 

somewhat  different.  There  never  should  have  been  anv  hint 
of  disparagement  or  of  invidious  comparison  in  the  case. 
Both  regiments  were  foredoomed  from  the  start.  Under  cir- 
cumstances so  overwhelmingly  hopeless,  in  fact  so  pitiably 
helpless,  very  slight  incidents  were  liable  to  effect  considerable 
results,  and  whatever  happened  was  largely  the  result  of 
chance. 

Possibly  more  has  been  said  in  this  connection  than  should 
be  said.  The  immeasurable  gravity  of  relations  such  as  this 
at  Gettysburg  tended  to  foster  and  almost  necessitate  intimate 
and  even  sacred  ties  between  these  two  regiments.  For  the 
Second  Massachusetts,  as  an  organization,  and  for  a  large  part 
of  the  officers  and  men  composing  it,  the  members  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  Indiana  have  none  but  words  of  hearty  com- 
mendation. Never,  in  any  of  our  regimental  reunions,  oi" 
where  two  or  more  of  the  Twenty-seventh  have  talked  socially- 
together  of  these  army  experiences,  has  the  Second  failed  to. 
receive  its  full  share  of  the  praise  and  good  will  expressed. 
If  any  one  should  impugn  the  character  of  any  of  the  regi- 
ments of  the  old  brigade  in  the  presence  of  a  Twentv-seventl>i 
soldier,  he  would  certainly  suffer  for  his  temerity.  But  if  any 
one  asserts,  or  intimates,  that  the  Twenty-seventh  came  short 
of  any  other  regiment,  or  was  at  any  time  or  place  surpassed 
by  another,  it  is  the  province  of  this  narrative  to  show  that  it 
is  either  a  mistake  or  a  calumny.* 

The  following  letter  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Francis,  also, 
of  the  Second  Massachusetts,  is  self-explanatory  : 

Lowell,  Mass.,  August  1st,  188G. 
John  R.  Rankin,  Esq_.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  : 

My  Dear  Sir  : — I  have  read  with  great  interest  your 
communication  of  the  17th  ult.  I  ain  at  a  loss  as  to  how  to 
proceed  to  reply,  for  I  am  surprised  beyond  measure  that  any- 
thing should  be  written  derogatory  to  the  fame  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Indiana. 

My  individual  opinion  is,  and  I  believe  my  brother  offi- 
cers have  the  same  opinion,  that  no  better  or  more  reliable 
regiment  existed  in  the  service  than  the  Twenty-seventh  Indi- 
ana. Its  record  of  losses  places  it  in  the  front  rank.  I  have 
just  looked  over  the  Massachusetts  Adjutant-General's  report 


*See  Note  on  Gettysburg  Index. 
26 


402  HISTORY    OF    THE 

(1863)  of  the  part  taken  by  the  Second  Alassachusetts  at 
Gettysburg.  As  I  read  it  I  can  see  no  intended  reflection  cast 
upon  the  action  of  the  Twenty-seventy  Indiana  in  falling  back 
as  they  did  (although  if  it  was  to  be  written  now  a  clearer 
explanation  would  appear),  for  the  same  could  have  been  said 
of  the  Second  Massachusetts,  or  any  other  regiment,  attempt- 
ing the  same  thing.  It  meant  annihilation  and,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, it  became  imperative  to  fall  back,  without  regard 
to  order. 

I  hope  to  forward  your  letter  to  General  Gordon,  with  a 
suggestion  that  it  would  be  well  for  him  to  answer  that  part 
of  your  letter  that  refers  to  his  treatment  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Indiana,  for  I  believe  it  was  far  from  his  intention  to 
write  one  word  that  could  oflFend  a  member  of  your  regiment. 
I  send  you  by  this  mail  two  pamphlets,  prepared  for  the  Second 
Massachusetts  Association.  One  of  them  tells,  in  a  feeble  way, 
of  the  plucky  work  done  by  the  Twenty-seventy  Indiana  at 
Chancellorsville  and  illustrates  the  opinion  that  the  Second 
Massachusetts  then  had,  now  have  and  ever  will  have,  of  your 
noble  and  perfectly  reliable  regiment. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

James  Francis. 

This  gentleman  followed  Colonel  Morse  as  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  Second.  In  connection  with  the  cordial  and 
appreciative  expressions  of  his  letter,  it  is  fitting  that  the  fact 
should  be  mentioned  here,  as  it  was  a  fact,  that  a  large  part  of 
the  enthusiasm  and  impetuosity  exhibited  by  the  men  of  the 
Twenty-seventh,  in  the  charge  at  Gettysburg, was  because  they^ 
in  large  part,  were  under  the  impression  that  the  regiment 
was  making  the  charge,  not  so  much  to  assault  the  enemy's 
position,  as  to  succor  the  Second  Massachusetts  and  relieve  it 
from  a  perilous  situation.  This  impression  was  natural 
because  the  Second  had  started  first,  and  because  of  the  further 
fact  that,  when  the  Twenty-seventh  had  swung  around,  so 
that  the  scene  of  the  conflict  was  fairly  open  to  their  view, 
the  dominant  features  of  the  field  were  the  killed  and  wounded 
of  the  Second  covering  the  ground,  with  the  remnant  hotly 
engaged  down  in  the  meadow.  This  understanding  of  the 
matter  must  also  have  prevailed  in  the  Second,  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent.  At  the  National  Encampment  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  1895,  the 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  403 

writer  and  other  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  chanced 
to  meet  a  former  member  of  the  old  Second  Massachusetts. 
He  expressed  himself  as  delighted  to  see  them  as  they  were 
more  than  delighted  to  see  him.  And  one  of  the  first  things 
he  said  was,  "  By  gracious,  I  never  shall  forget  how  grandly 
the  old  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  came  to  the  rescue  of  the 
Second  at  Gettysburg!" 

The  visitor  to  the  battlefield  of  Gettysburg  will  now  find, 
standing  upon  one  of  the  large  boulders,  behind  which  our 
wounded  took  shelter  at  the  edge  of  that  now  sacred  meadow, 
a  small,  unpretentious  granite  shaft,  erected  by  the  State  of 
Indiana.      An  inscription  upon  it  reads  as  follows  : 

This  Monument    Marks    the  Spot    Over 
Which  the  Left  Wing  of  the 

Twenty-Seventh    Indiana  Advanced,   in 
A  Charge  by  the  Regiment,  on 

the  Morning  of  July  Third,  1863.     Num- 
ber Engaged,  339.    Killed  and 
wounded,  110. 

Further  up  in  the  same  meadow,  upon  another  boulder, 
stands  another  modest  shaft,  erected  by  the  survivors  and 
friends  of  the  vSecond  Massachusetts.  The  two  are  quite 
similar  in  size  and  design.      An  inscription  on  this  last  reads  : 

From  the  Hill  Behind  This  Monument,  on 

THE    Morning    of    July    Third, 
1863,  THE  Second  Massachusetts  Infantry 

Made    an    Assault    Upon    the 
Confederate  Troops  at  the  Base  of  Culps 

Hill,  Opposite.    The  Regiment 
Carried    Into   the     Charge,    22    Officers 

and  294  Enlisted  Men.    It  Lost 
4  officers  and  41  Men    Killed    and    Mor- 
tally Wounded,  and  6   Officers 
AND   94  Men  Wounded. 

Neither  story  is  overembellished  in  the  telling.  Moderate 
in  size,  design  and  cost,  neither  of  these  monuments  appeals 
to  the  unthinking  and  sensuous.  But  standing  there  side  by 
side,  day  and   night,    in    shine   and  storm,    through  heat  and 


Monument  of  Twenty-seventh  Indiana,  on  Field 

OF  Gettysburg. 

The  regiment  was  posted  in  the  timber  behind  the  monument.  In  the 
charge  it  came  down  the  slope,  passing  over  the  ground  where  the  monu- 
ment now  stands  and  out  into  the  open  meadow.  The  granite  boulder  upon 
which  the  monument  stands  was  there  during  the  battle,  and  some  of  our 
wounded  laid  behind  it  all  day. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  405 

cold,  as  the  faithful  sentinels  of  the  two  regiments  so  often 
stood  in  the  old  days,  they  will  forever  continue  to  tell,  to 
those  who  will  reflect  upon  it,  a  thrilling  story  of  courage, 
daring  and  sacrifice.  The  men  whose  immortal  conduct  they 
severally  commemorate  came,  at  the  call  of  duty,  from  widely 
separated  homes,  and  they  differed  as  widely  in  former  occu- 
pations, habits  and  associations.  Each  had  provincialisms  of 
speech  and  manner,  strange,  if  not  grotesque,  to  the  other. 
But  they  were  one  in  a  common  love  and  loyalty  for  a  com- 
mon country  and  flag,  and  friendly  rivals  only  as  to  which 
should  be  the  best  soldiers  of  the  Republic  and  go  the  farthest 
and  sacrifice  the  most,  even  unto  death. 

The  dead  of  the  Twenty-seventh  at  Gettysburg  were 
eventually  removed,  as  were  all  the  other  Union  dead,  to  the 
National  Cemetery.  This  is  located  upon  the  high  ground 
immediately  adjoining  the  citizens'  cemetery,  which  gave  name 
to  the  historic  ridge.  The  National  Cemetery  did  not  impress 
the  writer  as  being  quite  equal,  either  in  its  arrangement  or 
the  condition  in  which  it  is  kept,  to  other  places  of  the  kind 
he  has  visited.  Still  it  is  a  most  sightly  place.  Overlooking, 
as  it  does,  a  large  part  of  the  battlefield,  one  cannot  stand 
among  its  circling  rows  of  modest  headstones  and  look  abroad 
upon  the  vast  number  of  monuments,  and  the  pieces  of  ar- 
tillery, marking  the  positions  of  the  various  commands  on  the 
field,  without  deep  and  surging  emotions. 

"With  footsteps  slow  let  travelers  go, 

And  move  with  solemn  tread, 
Above  these  cherished  mounds  so  low 

Where  sleep  our  patriot  dead. 

"  Their  warm  heart's  blood  poured  freely  forth 

Our  Nation's  life  to  save. 
If  there's  a  sacred  spot  on  earth, 

It  is  these  soldiers'  graves." 

This  cemetery  has  one  distinction  which  will  always  en- 
dear it  to  those  who,  for  other  reasons,  are  equally  interested 
in  others.  It  will  be  forever  closely  associated  with  the  death- 
less name  of  Lincoln.  Ilis  brief  oration,  delivered  when  the 
site  was  formally  set  apart  for  its  present  use,  will  continue 
as  one  of  the  gems  of  the  English  language  as  long  as  that 
language  has  an  existence  or  a  history.  Even  the  fact  that  he 
was  present,  and  took  part  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  dedica- 
tion, can  never  be  forgotten. 


406  HISTORY    OF    THE 

It  was  an  especial  disappointment  to  the  writer  to  find  so 
many  of  the  graves  marked  "  unknown,"  and  the  names  on 
the  headstones  of  so  many  others  evidently  misspelled.  This 
rendered  it  impossible  to  identify  or  count  the  graves  contain- 
ing the  remains  of  our  own  honored  dead.  There  are  eighty 
graves  in  all,  in  the  space  allotted  to  Indiana.  How  well  do 
we  know  that  all  of  them,  and  the  hundreds  from  other  states, 
who  here  have  found  a  resting  place,  are  richly  entitled  to  the 
distinction  of  those, 

".*****     O'er  whose  tomb 
Immortal  laurels  ever  bloom." 

Colonel  Fox  gives  the  loss  of  the  Twenty-seventh  at 
Gettysburg,  at  24  killed  and  mortally  wounded ;  wounded, 
not  mortally,  86. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


BACK  TO  THE  RAPPAHANNOCK. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  it  was  early  known  that  the 
enemy  had  abandoned  the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg  entirely. 
History  will  doubtless  blame  General  Meade  for  allowing  him 
to  get  away  without  at  least  attempting  to  strike  him  a  fatal 
blow,  or,  failing  in  that,  without  moving  more  promptly  and 
with  more  energy,  to  strike  one  later.  In  failing  to  do  either 
he  gave  indisputable  evidence  that,  at  this  time  at  least, 
he  was  lacking  in  some  of  the  qualities  of  a  great  general.  The 
men  of  the  army  had  no  other  thought  only  thai  an  advance 
would  be  ordered  from  some  point  on  our  line  on  the  4th. 
When  this  was  not  done,  orders  to  move,  with  the  view  of 
gaining  some  other  position  of  advantage,  were  momentarily 
expected,  night  and  day. 

Finally,  on  the  evening  of  July  5th,  we  moved  back  to 
Littlestown.  We  could  see  that  the  move  was  general,  the 
entire  corps  being  along,  but  the  march  was  not  an  urgent 
one.  There  did  not  seem  to  be  any  hurry  in  any  quarter. 
The  next  day  we  marched  still  more  leisurely,  making  only 
seven  miles,  in  the  direction  of  Frederick.  But  on  the  7th, 
we  moved  as  if  a  decision  had  finally  been  reached,  and, 
somebody  knew  what  it  was.  General  Slocum  says  of  this, 
"  Although  many  of  the  men  were  destitute  of  shoes,  and  all 
greatly  fatigued,  by  the  labor  and  anxiety  of  a  severely  con- 
tested battle,  as  well  as  the  heavy  marches  which  had  pre- 
ceded it,  a  march  of  twenty-nine  miles  was  made  this  day." 

Just  out  of  Frederick  westward,  we  were  considerably 
shocked  to  see  the  body  of  a  man  dangling  at  the  end  of  a 
rope.  It  was  looped  with  a  cutting  tigiitness  around  the 
neck,  while  the  other  end  was  securely  fastened  to  the  limb  of  a 
tree.  We  were  still  more  shocked  when  we  discovered  that 
we  knew  the  man.  He  had  frequently  been  in  our  camps,  a 
small,  sandy  complected  fellow,  apparently  not  in  good  health, 
and  not  prepossessing  in  any  way.  His  avowed  mission  was 
selling  maps  and  songs.      A  day  or  two  previous  to  this,  posi- 


408  HISTORY    OF    THE 

tive  evidence  had  come  to  light  that  his  real  business  was  that 
of  a  rebel  spy.      He  was,  therefore,  hung  up  without  ceremony. 

There  has  been  no  little  contention  in  recent  years,  among 
the  thousands  who  witnessed  this  ghastly  spectacle,  as  to 
whether  the  tree  that  served  this  patriotic  purpose  was  an 
apple  tree,  or  of  some  other  species.  The  question  is  certainly 
not  important.  When  the  writer  saw  the  body  it  was  with- 
out clothing  except  a  shirt. 

After  passing  through  Frederick,  we  were  moving  or 
camping  mostly  among  familiar  scenes  again,  and  were  bewil- 
dered every  day  by  the  changed  conditions  that  these  army 
maneuvers  can  bring  about.  Our  marches  were  at  first  over 
the  identical  roads  we  had  traveled  going  to  the  battle  of 
Antietam.  After  arriving  in  the  vicinity  of  that  battlefield, 
many  of  the  roads  and  most  of  the  villages  were  those  with 
which  we  had  become  well  acquainted  on  our  marches  after 
the  battle  of  Antietam,  and  during  our  sojourn  at  Dam  Num- 
ber Four.  Crampton's  Pass,  Boonsboro,  Keedyville,  Smoke- 
town,  Fair  Play,  and,  finally,  Williamport,  recalled  former 
•experiences.  The  prospect  of  fighting  another  battle  here, 
where  everything  was  so  quiet  and  peaceful  less  than  a  year 
•ago,  when  we  were  last  here,  was  another  object  lesson  to  us 
that,  "  It  is  the  unexpected  that  happens  in   war." 

Roundabout  and  dilly-dally  as  our  marches  had  been, 
favored  by  a  flood  in  the  Potomac  river,  and  numerous  other 
impediments  to  the  enemy's  march,  we  overtook  him  before 
he  could  escape  into  Virginia.  His  two  points  for  crossing 
were  Falling  Waters,  near  Dam  Number  Four,  and  Williams- 
port.  His  line  of  defense  was  drawn  from  one  of  these 
places  to  the  other,  in  a  semi-circle  bowing  outward.  He  had 
selected  positions  strong  naturally,  and  had  had  time  to  for- 
tify quite  thoroughly. 

The  closely  drawn  lines  around  the  enemy's  position,  the 
repeated  building  and  strengthening  of  breast-Avorks  for  our- 
selves, the  hourly  and  sometime  momentary  expectation  that 
we  would  receive  orders  to  attack,  the  frequent  moves  and 
maneuvers  which  tended  to  increase  that  expectation,  and  the 
dreadfully  hard  rain  that  fell  just  when  we  finally  thought  the 
supreme  moment  had  come, — all  of  these  facts,  and  many 
•others — we  will  all  recall.  The  time  from  July  11th  to  the 
14th  was  consumed  in   that  way. 

The  writer's  impression  is  that   the   men   of  the  Twenty- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  409 

seventh  were  not  sanguine  about  attacking  this  fortified  posi- 
tion. It  is  possible  that  the  bulk  of  the  army  did  not  share 
our  misgivings  about  it.  An  experience  such  as  we  had  just 
had  at  Gettysburg,  of  being  hurled  against  breastworks,  was 
one  that  men  did  not  commonly  care  to  repeat  very  often. 
We  were  eager,  as  usual,  to  have  something  done,  and,  it  is 
hoped,  did  not  ask  exemption  from  doing  our  share  of  what- 
ever was  decided  upon  ;  but  the  feeling  of  the  regiment  must 
•have  been  one  of  relief,  if  not  of  positive  gladness,  when  it  was 
known  that  the  enemy  had  withdrawn.  Whatever  unneces- 
sary delays  had  been  permitted  before  this,  or  whatever  mis- 
takes had  been  made,  leading  to  inaction,  the  remedy  was  not 
to  be  found  in  a  rash  course  here.  Surely  some  move  was 
possible  by  which  we  could  have  it  out  with  our  antagonists 
under  more  favorable  conditions  than  these.  Those  critics 
who  inveigh  against  General  Meade  for  not  assaulting  Lee's 
position  at  this  point  are  themselves  at  fault,  if  what  we  ot  the 
Twenty-seventh  saw  counts  for  anything.  Repeated  instances 
in  the  history  of  the  war  impress  the  lesson  that  it  is  folly  and 
crime  to  try  to  make  up  by  recklessness  and  sacrifice,  in  assault- 
ing strong,  fortified  positions,  for  what  had  been  lacking 
before,  in  energy  and  forethought. 

The  escape  of  Lee  across  the  Potomac  meant  for  us  a 
return  to  the  Rappahannock.  It  was  a  long  ways  off,  but  it 
was  our  inevitable  destination.  This  was  the  common  under- 
standing among  the  men.  Of  course  there  was  talk  about  our 
advance  getting  possession  of  gaps,  heading  off  the  enemy 
and  forcing  him  into  battle,  intercepting  his  trains,  so  richly 
laden  with  Pennsylvania  plunder,  and  so  on.  But  if  such 
statements  were  put  in  circulation  for  the  purpose  of  mislead- 
ing any  large  part  of  the  army,  they  failed  signally.  If  General 
Meade  had  published  the  fact  in  orders,  stating  in  so  many 
words,  that  he  expected  to  move  cautiously  along,  covering 
Washington,  until  Lee  reached  a  position  south  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock, his  soldiers  would  not  have  been  more  convinced 
that  that  was  really  his  plan. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  from  Williamsport, 
Maryland,  to  Kelly's  Ford,  or  Rappahannock  Station,  Vir- 
ginia, is  a  long  walk.  In  making  the  distance  we  marched 
almost  three  hundred  miles.  Considerable  of  the  way  was 
through  a  country  we  had  seen  before.  The  first  day  after 
leaving  Williamsport  took  us  over  the  battlefield  of  Antietam, 


410  HISTORY    OF    THE 

through  Sharpsburg,  and  on  to  Maryland  Hights.  In  the  days 
succeeding,  we  camped  awhile  in  Pleasant  Valley,  near  Sandy 
Hook,  on  ground  that  we  had  occupied  on  two  former  occa- 
sions. For  a  third  time  we  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  thereby  invading  the  Old  Dominion  for  the  fourth 
time.  For  the  second  time  we  passed  under  the  end  of 
Loudon  Hights,  marching  on  to  Hillsborough.  For  the  fourth 
time  we  camped  near  Snickersville,  and  so  on. 

From  Harper's  Ferry,  through  Hillsborough,  Snickersville 
and  Upperville,  thence  through  Manassas  and  Thoroughfare 
Gaps,  to  Hay  Market,  we  found  it  a  rough,  though  not  an  over- 
taxing journey.  The  roads,  besides  being  hilly  and  uneven, 
had  not  been  improved,  and  did  not  seem  to  lead  to  any  par- 
ticular point.  One  night  we  marched  until  very  late,  and, 
footsore  and  weary,  we  waded  an  indeterminate  number  of 
creeks,  or  waded  the  same  creek  an  indeterminate  number  of 
times.  After  we  finally  came  up  with  other  troops  and 
stopped  for  the  night,  a  member  of  another  regiment  asked 
one  of  our  boys  whether  we  had  found  any  creeks  on  the  way. 
He  replied,  "Yes,  we  found  one,  but  we  struck  the  darned 
thing  end-ways." 

One  of  these  late  marches — this  one  or  another — was  pro- 
longed and  made  more  annoying  and  wearisome,  by  halts  and 
countermarches,  as  it  was  reported,  on  account  of  a  too-liberal 
use  of  "  commissary."  Another  night,  not  long  after  taps, 
following  a  hot,  toilsome  day,  a  heavy  thunder-shower,  with 
a  whirlwind  accompaniment,  came  along.  Most  of  our 
"  pup  "-tents  fell  flat  when  we  needed  them  worst.  It  is 
never  quite  to  one's  liking  to  be  rudely  awakened  in  the  early 
stages  of  a  much-needed  sleep,  and  be  forthwith  turned  out  in 
the  darkness  and  rain,  in  one's  shirt  tail.  Who  except  these 
Twenty-seventh  soldiers  could  accept  such  a  position  with  any 
equanimity.''  They  howled  with  delight.  To  them  it  was  all 
very  funny. 

This  was  again  the  season  for  berries,  and  we  had  as 
many  as  we  could  use.  There  was  also  a  fair  supply  of  apples 
in  the  orchards  along  the  way,  though  not  always  a  wholesome 
variety.  The  weather  was  mostly  hot  in  the  day  time,  but 
the  nights  were  cool.  When  we  camped,  a  few  pickets  were 
put  out  to  keep  faithful  vigil,  while  all  the  others  slept  like 
children  at  home.  This  long  march,  therefore,  was  something 
like  a  summer  outing. 


TWEXTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  411 

The  writer  happened  to  be  near  the  Colonel  and  Surgeon, 
on  some  temporary  detail,  when  the  regiment  was  moving  out 
of  camp  the  morning  we  left  Sandy  Hook.  While  the  sym- 
pathetic and  faithful  Surgeon  sat  on  his  horse  his  skillful  eyes 
rested  intently  upon  the  bronzed,  lean  and  haggard  athletes  in 
the  ranks,  as  they  filed  by,  in  their  soiled  uniforms  and  their 
unkempt  beard  and  hair.  At  length  he  said  :  "  Colonel,  these 
boys,  almost  every  one  of  them,  are  sick  enough  to  be  in  bed, 
if  they  only  knew  it."  A  campaign  of  over  a  month,  with 
its  accompanying  incidents — its  march  of  four  hundred  miles, 
its  exposure  to  heat,  dust  and  rain  ;  irregular,  poorly  cooked 
and  often  insufficient  food  ;  frequently  shut  up  to  abominable 
water  and  as  frequently  tempted  by  famishing  thirst  to  drink 
too  much,  whether  good  or  bad  ;  meager  opportunities  to  wash 
the  person  or  clothes ;  no  such  thing  as  unbroken  sleep  or 
rest,  and,  above  all,  and  added  to  all,  the  indescribable  wear 
and  tear  of  the  battle  and  its  issues,  who  can  tell  what  it  was 
to  go  through  one  such?  But  when  we  finally  came  out  of 
the  broken  and  mountainous  region  of  country  and  found  our- 
selves in  the  open,  level  section  north  of  Warrenton,  Virginia, 
we  were  really  in  fair  condition  again.  We  had  recuperated 
on  the  march. 

At  the  little  town  of  Greenwich,  after  we  had  passed  the 
Bull  Run  mountains,  we  had  an  object  lesson  on  the  power 
of  a  rag.  A  house  or  houses  (whether  one  or  more  the  writer 
does  not  recall),  surrounded  by  considerable  enclosures,  w'ere 
wholly  undisturbed  by  the  deluge  of  war  surging  around 
them.  Patches  of  corn  in  roasting  ear,  thrifty  vegetables 
growing  beautifully,  trees  laden  with  ripe,  luscious  apples 
and  other  tempting  fruits,  fences  in  perfect  repair — not  a  stick 
amiss  or  a  thing  molested.  All  around,  everywhere  else,  was 
utter  desolation.  Between  the  two  armies  everything  in  sight 
had  been  taken  or  destroyed.  Why  this  single  exception  ? 
Nothing  but  this  :  Over  this  property  waved  a  very  small 
English  flag!  Yet  there  are  people  who  say  there  is  nothing 
in  a  flag,  save  a  little  sentiment. 

We  reached  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad  at  Cat- 
letts  Station.  As  we  approached  Warrenton  Junction,  appre- 
hensive that  we  might  run  into  an  outpost  of  the  enemy,  a 
locomotive  suddenly  whistled  behind  us  and  a  long  train  of 
loaded  cars  at  once  rolled  past.  The  train  reached  the  station 
fully  abreast    of  our    skirmish    line.     This   was  more  energy 


412  HISTORY    OF    THE 

and  enterprise  than  we  had  ever  before  seen  in  the  "cracker 
department."  It  ahiiost  equaled  what  we  saw  a  year  later, 
in  Georgia.  There,  as  the  army  advanced,  the  bridge-builders 
were  so  expeditious  that  the  railroad  trains  beat  the  infantry 
soldiers  across  some  of  the  streams. 

We  tarried  at  Warrenton  Junction  for  a  short  time. 
General  Slocum  had  his  headquarters  in  a  large  plantation 
house,  half  a  mile  north  of  the  station,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
railroad.  We  again  found  water  scarce  in  this  vicinity,  until 
some  one  thought  of  the  unusual  expedient  of  digging  down 
to  the  under-drains,  or  tile,  on  the  improved  land.  In  that 
way  an  unfailing  supply  of  reasonably  good  water  was 
obtained. 

July  81,  our  division  advanced  to  the  Rappahannock,  at 
Kelly's  Ford.  The  next  morning  the  Twenty-seventh  crossed 
the  river.  Companies  F  and  G  were  sent  forward  as  skir- 
mishers, and  the  column  swung  out  as  though  we  might  be 
leading  the  way  straight  to  Richmond.  But,  after  going  a 
bare  mile,  we  halted  temporarily,  as  it  appeared  at  first. 
Later  we  went  into  bivouac  and  remained  there  three  days, 
when  we  tamely  returned  to  the  north  bank  of  the  river. 
Nothing  has  ever  come  to  light  explaining  the  reasons  for  this 
show  of  boldness.  A  considerable  drove  of  cattle,  and  another 
smaller  one  of  sheep,  were  confiscated  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river  by  the  quartermaster's  department  and  driven  over. 
There  were  also  extensive  confiscations  of  potatoes,  roasting 
ears  and  vegetables  of  various  kinds,  with  a  few  pigs  and 
calves  added ;  though  the  quartermaster's  department  will 
have  enough  to  answer  for  without  being  charged  with  these. 

We  remained  here  in  a  quite  way,  swimming  and  fishing 
in  the  river,  cleaning  up  and  mending  our  clothing  and  equip- 
ments, reorganizing  and  drilling  a  little,  until  the  16th  of 
August.  One  of  these  days  was  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer, 
religiously  observed,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  by  at  least  a  few.  It 
was  not  very  religiously  observed  by  the  majority.  People  in 
the  army  were  too  much  like  they  are  at  home  for  that.  No 
rations  were  issued  that  day,  but  if  any  one  had  rations  left 
over  there  was  no  law  against  him  eating  them.  Another  one 
of  these  days,  rather  more  to  the  liking  and  habits  of  the 
average  soldier,  was  pay  day.  The  pay  master  again  settled 
with  us  for  two  months  service. 

Of  course,  one   of  our  duties   here  was   to  maintain   the 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  413 

inevitable  picket  line.  Naturally  enough  this  was  established 
along  the  river.  The  Rappahannock  at  this  point  is  never 
very  formidable,  not  being  over  seventy-five  yards  wide.  It 
was  now  very  low  and  could  be  easily  forded,  almost  any 
place.  This  seemed  to  be  the  occasion  of  not  a  little  anxiety, 
particularly  in  higher  official  circles,  perhaps  with  reason. 
Orders  to  the  pickets  were  very  strict,  accompanied  by  many 
cautions  and  mysterious  intimations  of  impending  dangers. 

One  very  dark  night  in  particular,  when  it  was  raining 
gently,  a  New  Jersey  officer  of  the  day  took  it  into  his  head 
that  our  picket  line  was  going  to  be  "  gobbled  up,"  as  the 
boys  expressed  it,  unless  something  unusual  was  done  to  pre- 
vent it.  Consequently  he  ordered  that  not  a  soul  on  picket 
should,  on  any  account,  have  a  particle  of  sleep. 

It  chanced  that  day,  that  the  detail  from  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  from  thirty  to  fifty  men.  had  mostly  been  assigned 
to  one  station.  The  detail  was  in  charge  of  a  corporal,  acting 
as  a  sergeant.  It  will  be  remembered  that,  after  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  the  size  of  commands  were  often  greatly  out  of 
proportion  to  the  rank  of  the  officer. 

This  corporal  saw  what  labor  he  was  going  to  have  in  try- 
ing to  keep  his  men  awake,  and  that  it  would  probably  end  in 
failure  and  consequent  trouble.  So,  he  decided  upon  a  plan 
of  his  own.  Calling  his  men  around  him  he  asked  them 
whether,  if  he  should  try  to  favor  them,  they  would  appreciate 
it  enough  to  do  what  they  could  to  help  him  out  with  it.  Then 
he  explained  that,  if  they  would  all  lie  down  where  he  could 
easily  find  them,  with  their  accoutrements  in  easy  reach,  and 
would  have  the  situation  sufficiently  in  mind  so  that  they 
would  be  at  themselves  as  soon  as  awakened,  the  two  reliefs 
not  on  post  might  all  go  to  sleep.  He  would  himself  do  the 
watching,  both  for  the  enemy  and  the  Grand  Rounds. 

No  need  to  relate  that  all  were  ready  to  promise,  and,  as 
it  developed,  they  all  kept  their  promise  to  the  letter. 

All  went  well,  and  the  night  wore  away.  The  reliefs 
were  changed  regularly,  on  sharp  time,  and,  as  far  as  known, 
every  man  on  post  was  wide  awake  and  watchful.  Whenever 
a  relief  came  in,  the  men  at  once  snuggled  themselves  under 
their  rubber  blankets,  and  were  soon  sound  asleep. 

Along  towards  morning, the  corporal  was  sitting  alone  in 
the  murky  darkness,  the  rain  was  pattering  gently,  but  every- 
thing else  was  as    silent  as  the  grave.     He  had  been  a  little 


414  HISTORY    OF    THE 

uneasy  with  reference  to  the  outcome  of  his  disregard  of 
instructions,  and  his  nerves  were  at  a  high  tension.  His  ears 
were  strained  to  catch  every  sound,  from  ever}-  direction. 
When  he  was  just  thinking  that,  in  all  probability,  the  officer 
of  the  day  would  not  come  now,  after  all,  his  sharp  ears 
detected  the  faintest  click  of  a  saber,  only  a  short  distance 
away.  Instantly  he  was  after  his  men.  One  by  one  he 
caught  them  by  the  shoulders  and  fairly  stood  them  upon  their 
feet.  In  a  trice  it  was,  "Who  comes  there  .^  Halt,  Grand 
Rounds!  Advance,  Sergeant,  and  give  the  countersign. 
Turn  out  the  guard,  the  Grand  Rounds!  etc,  etc." 

Then  the  officer  of  the  day  fairly  exhausted  himself  in 
complimenting  the  Tv/enty-seventh  men.  They  could  always 
be  depended  upon,  they  could.  Nowhere  else  had  he  been 
so  received.  He  would  like  to  see  the  enemy  that  could  catch 
the  Twenty-seventh  soldiers  napping.  And  more  in  the  same 
vein.  He  will  likely  never  know,  unless  he  reads  these  pages, 
what  arrant  hypocrits  and  pretenders  those  Indiana  men  could 
be  on  occasion. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


NEW  YORK. 

We  were  now  about  to  have  an  experience  that  was  quite 
out  of  the  ordinary  for  soldiers  serving  in  the  field,  in  time  of 
active  hostilities.  We  were  to  have  a  ten  days'  visit  to  the 
commercial  metropolis  of  the  country — New  York  City. 

Uncle  Sam  is  much  like  other  uncles,  with  some  differ- 
ences. Like  the  general  run  of  uncles,  he  has  an  eye  to  busi- 
ness. When  he  has  people  about  him,  eating  at  his  table  and 
enjoying  his  favors,  he  aims  that  they  shall  earn  what  they  get. 
And  if,  when  they  are  in  his  employ,  he  gives  them  a  play-spell 
or  sends  them  away  on  a  pleasure  trip,  so  called,  he  is  pecu- 
liarly uncleish  in  having  some  scheme  for  his  own  advantage 
back  of  it.     That  was  undeniably  true  in  this  instance. 

Uncle  Sam's  method  of  procedure  in  this  case  will  also 
remind  some  of  the  course  of  other  uncles,  at  other  times.  He 
did  not  come  to  us  and  say,  "  Boys,  you  have  been  doing  well 
lately.  I  appreciate  your  services  very  much.  I  have,  there- 
fore, arranged  a  little  trip  for  you.  Here  are  your  tickets,  and 
here  is  a  little  pocket  money;  go  and  have  a  good  time." 
Uncles  seldom  do  that  way.  On  the  contrary.  Uncle  Sam  was 
hardly  ever  so  close  mouthed  with  us  as  he  was  at  this  time. 
So  far  from  informing  us  where  he  was  sending  us,  and  mak- 
ing some  special  provision  for  our  enjoyment  of  the  trip,  he 
was  unusually  careful  to  withhold  from  us  every  vestige  of 
information  on  these  points.  Not  the  least  sign  or  hint  did 
he  permit  us  to  have  by  which  we  could  guess  our  destination 
or  make  any  estimate  of  what  we  might  find  it  agreeable  to 
have  along  with  us.  It  is  doubtful,  indeed,  whether  on  any 
■other  occasion,  during  the  three  years  or  more  that  we 
remained  in  intimate  relations  with  him,  his  success  was  so 
marked  in  keeping  us  from  prying  into  these  things,  some- 
how. It  was  proof  positive  that  he  could  be  shrewd  and  self- 
contained  when  he  tried.  In  this  case  the  matter  he  was 
expecting  us  to  look  after  was  one  that  put  him  on  his 
mettle. 


416  HISTORY    OF    THE 

A  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Gettj-sburg  there  had  been 
a  serious  riot  in  New  York.  It  was  not  complimentary  to 
that  city,  as  some  things  we  saw  and  heard  after  our  arrival 
there  were  not,  but  maddened  crowds  of  men  had  assembled 
themselves  and  committed  numerous  depredations  and  crimes, 
including  arson  and  murder.  The  provocation  was  that  a 
draft  was  then  in  progress,  deciding  who  should  serve  in  the 
army.  These  hoodlums  did  not  want  to  go  to  the  army,  there- 
fore they  raised  mobs  and  rushed  into  the  places  where  the 
draft  was  being  conducted,  scattered  the  men  engaged  in  the 
work  and  siezed  and  destroyed  the  draft  lists  and  other  neces- 
sary articles.  Their  lawlessness  went  to  the  extent  also  of 
hanging  innocent  and  unoffending  negroes  upon  lamp  posts, 
and  burning  a  colored  orphan  assylum,  containing  over  700 
homeless  orphans.  They  committed  these  last  outrages  because 
they  had  been  told  that  the  war  was  being  waged  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  negroes. 

The  reason  for  troops  being  sent  to  Xew  York  at  this 
time  was  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  these  things.  New  draft 
lists  had  been  prepared  and  another  draft  was  about  to  be 
made.  Several  thousand  veterans  from  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac were  therefore  to  be  on  hand.  Any  disorder,  or  resist- 
ance to  law,  was  to  receive  their  attention. 

On  the  15th  of  August  we  received  orders  to  get  ready  for  a 
move,  and  the  next  morning  we  started.  In  all  such  cases  in 
the  army,  the  question  of  destination  is  raised  forthwith. 
Sometimes  it  is  easily  inferred  by  what  can  be  seen,  or  from 
what  presently  transpires.  At  other  times,  it  is  divulged  by 
some  one  who  knows,  and  soon  comes  to  be  an  open  secret 
with  all.  In  this  instance,  however,  those  who  knew,  if 
any  did,  kept  it  well  to  themselves ;  and  all  signs  by 
which  we  usually  judged  were  either  absent  or  indefinite 
and  contradictory.  Our  brigade  commander.  General  Ruger, 
was  going  along,  with  his  staff  and  belongings,  but  not 
all  of  his  regiments.  We  were  ordered  to  go  "  light,"  that 
is,  to  leave  some  of  our  heavier  baggage  behind,  but  we 
were  taking  so  much  along  that  it  might  not  be  necessary 
for  us  to  return  after  the  balance.  One  of  the  most  puzzling 
facts  was  that  the  officers  were  ordered  to  take  their  horses, 
and  that  remains  a  puzzle  to  this  day.  They  had  no  use 
for  them  and  were  not  likely  to  have. 

We  marched  directly  to  Rappahannock  Station.     There 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  417 

we  found  trains  of  flat  cars,  which  we  were  ordered  to  board, 
and,  without  delay,  started  northward.  The  ride  to  Alex- 
andria was  very  enjoyable.  It  was  a  lovely  Sunday  after- 
noon, clear,  cool  and  calm.  Almost  every  mile  of  the  way 
was  as  familiar  to  us  as  the  old  path  to  school,  at  home. 
We  could  recall  many  things,  as  we  passed  along,  that  had 
transpired  here  and  there.  How  indelibly  the  region  between 
the  Potomac  and  the  Blue  Ridge  was  imprinted  upon  the 
memories  of  thousands  of  Northern  men,  during  the  event- 
ful years  of  the   war  ! 

Riding  on  flat  cars,  without  seats,  would  not  ordinarily 
be  considered  a  very  luxurious  mode  of  travel.  It  must  be 
remembered,  however,  that  this  was  the  first  ride  of  any  kind, 
except  the  short  one  from  near  Hoo^ier  City  to  vSandy  Hook, 
that  most  of  us  had  taken  since  our  first  arrival  at  Washing- 
ton. Two  thousand  miles  and  more  of  foot-travel,  as  soldiers 
go,  was  a  good  preparation  for  enjoying  almost  any  kind  of  a 
railroad  ride. 

At  Alexandria  we  marched  to  an  open  square,  or  com- 
mon, in  the  western  edge  of  the  town  and  %vent  into  bivouac, 
— of  a  very  temporary  kind.  There  was  not  room  to  take 
half  the  regular  distances,  and  poles  and  stakes  suitable  for 
putting  up  our  tents  were  not  available.  Still,  we  were 
fairly  comfortable.  The  ground  occupied  by  the  Twenty- 
seventh  was  grassy  and  clean,  and  the  weather  remained  dry 
and  warm. 

We  learned  subsequent'y  that  eleven  regiments  were 
detailed  for  this  expedition.  Most  of  them  were  Western 
regiments,  presmnably  because  they  would  be  less  liable  to 
have  kindred  or  other  alliances  in  New  York  that  might 
interfere  with  their  service.  A  few  Eastern  regiments  were 
sent,  among  them  being  the  Second  Massachusetts  of  our  bri- 
gade. This  was  another  indication  of  the  prestige  of  the 
Third  Brigade.  Three  of  its  regiments  were  detailed  for  this 
picked  expedition,  with  the  brigade  commander  in  charge  of 
the  whole. 

We  remained  at  Alexandria  from  .Sunday  until  Wednes- 
day, waiting  for  boats  to  transport  us.  We  had  surmised  as 
much,  though  there  was  little  to  indicate  it.  And,  if  we  were 
to  go  on  by  water,  it  was  a  natural  inference  that  our  destina- 
tion was  some  point  along  the  rivers  or  sea-coast  of  Virginia 

or  North  Carolina. 
27 


418  HISTORY    OK    THE 

While  at  Alexandria  we  had  no  camp  guards.  The  only- 
restraint  anyone  was  under  to  remain  in  camp  was  the  evident 
liability  of  an  instant  move.  There  was  some  going  about, 
but  the  privilege  was  not  abused.  Peddlers  abounded.  The 
ubiquitous  "  commissary  "  was  also  in  evidence.  The 
regiments  occupying  the  ground  next  to  ours  were  from  Ohio, 
They  put  up  more  old  fashioned  fist-fights  than  the  writer  has 
ever  witnessed  anywhere  else,  in  the  same  length  of  time. 
Every  few  minutes,  as  it  now  seems,  the  cry  of  "  fight  "  was 
raised.  Sure  enough,  if  one  cared  to  look,  a  regular  set-to 
■was  on  hand.  Neither  the  officers,  nor  any  one  else,  seemed 
disposed  to  interfere  in  these  knock  downs,  except  to  see  fair 
play. 

On  Wednesday,  the  18th,  under  orders,  we  marched 
through  the  town  of  Alexandria  to  the  river  front,  and 
immediately  embarked  upon  the  steel  propeller  Merrimac. 
As  soon  as  the  required  number  were  aboard  she  swung  out 
into  the  stream  and  dropped  her  anchor.  She  drew  too  much 
w^ater  to  navigate  the  Potomac  at  night.  We  were,  therefore, 
to  wait  until  morning. 

To  us  land-lubbers,  the  Alerrimac  seemed  a  ship  of 
immense  size,  and  a  curiosity  in  many  ways.  Up  to  this  time 
the  onlv  water  crafts  we  had  seen  were  such  as  then  navigated 
our  smaller  western  rivers.  At  this  date  a  screw  propeller 
was  a  little  new  on  the  ocean. 

The  Merrimac  had  been  built  for  carrying  freight  mostly, 
having  a  small  cabin  and  few  state  rooms.  The  Third  Wis- 
consin and  Second  Massachusetts,  of  our  brigade,  along  with 
•jDur  regiment  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-sixth  Ohio, 
"sof  another  brigade,  this  last  almost  as  large  as  the  other  three, 
•  easily  found  room  and  shelter  in  her  spacious  apartments.  She 
^was  registered  as  having  a  carrying  capacity  of  nearly  2,000 
tons  and,  while  we  were  aboard,  drew  16  feet  of  water.  Her 
huge  compound  engines  and  polished  steel  inachinery,  work- 
ing so  silently,  with  scarcely  ajar  or  quiver,  caused  our  inex- 
perienced eyes  to  bulge  out  not  a  little. 

The  soldiers  were  allowed  the  liberty  of  the  ship,  except 
state  rooms  and  cabin.  We  had  our  regular  rations  with  us. 
Coffee  was  cooked  in  bulk,  by  steam.  In  other  respects  we 
lived  as  usual.  With  our  blankets,  we  slept  upon  the  bare 
floor.     The  officers  boarded  at  the  ship's  table. 

Early  on   the   morning  of  the  19th,  with  much   shouting 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA,  419 

and  jollity  on  the  part  of  the  soldiers  assisting  in  the  work, 
and  much  creaking  and  grating  of  chains,  the  capstan  went 
round  and  round  and  the  anchor  came  slowly  up.  Then, 
with  a  tremor  throughout  her  whole  anatomy,  the  great 
leviathan  turned  her  prow  down  stream  and  started  on  the 
voyage. 

Just  at  that  point  Uncle  vSam  did  a  very  gracious  thing. 
He  removed  the  only  restraint  there  was  upon  our  enjoyment 
of  the  situation,  by  telling  us  where  we  were  going.  We 
were  on  our  way  to  New  York  City.  We  were  to  have  an 
all  day  ride  down  the  Potomac,  and  across  the  Chesapeake 
bay.  Then,  on  the  bosom  of  the  wide  Atlantic,  we  were  to 
sail  to  our  destination.  How  delightful  it  all  was!  Of 
course,  we  were  taking  our  guns  with  us,  and  we  had  not 
emptied  the  cartridges  out  of  our  boxes,  either.  Neither  were 
they  blank  cartridges,  such  as  had  been  used  in  New  York 
before.  But  if  it  was  agreeable  to  have  all  visions  of  the  river 
and  coast  regions  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  dispelled, 
as  with  a  magician's  wand,  it  was  no  drawback  to  reflect  that 
we  had  our  muskets  along  where  we  were  going,  and  had 
something  to  load  them  with.  If  there  was  any  one  thing 
that  the  average  Twenty-seventh  soldier  desired  more  than 
another,  at  that  period,  it  was  to  have  a  good,  fair  shot  at  an 
out-and-out  Northern  Copperhead. 

Long  distances  of  travel  are  not  new  to  the  writer  now  ; 
but  the  supreme  enjoyment  of  that  quiet  sail  down  the 
Potomac,  on  that  far  away  August  day,  is  as  fresh  in  memory 
at  the  present  hour  as  if  had  occurred  only  last  week.  There 
was  nothing  of  special  interest  to  be  seen  except  Mount 
Vernon.  This  every  patriot  should  go  and  look  upon  once 
in  his  life,  even  if  he  has  to  cross  the  continent  to  do  it.  We 
all  remember  also  how  Fort  Washington  appeared  then,  and 
how  we  watched  for  Acquia  Creek  Landing,  only  to  have  an 
indistinct  vision  of  its  charred  ruins,  as  we  steamed  by,  almost 
at  the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 

The  glare  of  the  sun  that  day  was  relieved  by  a  slight 
Iiaze,  and  the  air  was  deliciously  cool,  without  being  chilly. 
We  could  lounge  on  deck,  climb  into  the  rigging,  go  below, 
play  games,  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  men  of  other  regi- 
ments,— or  just  sit  still  by  ourselves  and  enjoy  the  ride.  As 
we  seemed  to  glide  along,  the  river  became  wider  and 
wider,  the  ever-changing  kaleidoscope  on  the  shores  receded 


420  HISTORY    OF    THE 

farther  and  farther  away,  and  the  great  ship  became  smaller 
and  smaller  relatively.  Before  we  entered  Chesapeake  Bay, 
the  Potomac  was  so  wide  that  it  seemed  itself  a  bay.  It  was 
hard  to  tell,  indeed,  where  the  river  ended  and  the  bay  began. 
It  was  hard,  too,  with  the  eye,  to  keep  directions.  In  the 
morning  we  had  started  almost  due  south.  Now,  the  land 
was  so  distant  and  dim,  and  the  sun,  having  changed  his  posi- 
tion, hung  so  low  in  the  horizon,  in  such  a  golden,  mellow 
light,  that,  before  we  were  aware  of  it,  we  seemed  to  be 
turned  around,  and  going  due  north. 

We  had  crossed  well  over  the  Chesapeake  bay  before 
night.  About  sunset,  off  to  our  right,  could  be  seen  indistinctly, 
a  dark  ridge,  resembling  a  low-lying  cloud  bank.  That,  they 
said,  was  Old  Point  Comfort.  Near  its  lower  extremity  was 
a  spot,  a  little  more  distinct,  not  unlike  the  roof  of  a  great 
barn  or  shed,  or  the  shadowy  outlines  of  an  immense  weather- 
beaten  straw  stack.  That,  we  were  told,  was  Fortress  Mon- 
roe. These  riveted  our  attention,  because  their  names  were 
in  the  papers  every  day  during  the  years  of  the  war. 

It  required  but  a  short  time  for  the  soldiers  to  be  on  the 
best  of  terms  with  the  sailors.  The  jovial,  easy-going  old  cap- 
tain came  about  as  near  resigning  in  our  favor  as  he  well  could. 
The  boys  took  hold  freely  and  assisted  in  all  the  work  of  sail- 
ing the  ship,  from  heaving  coal  to  going  aloft.  For  twenty 
or  thirty  of  them  to  seize  the  spikes  and  turn  the  capstan,  in 
weighing  anchor,  was  great  fun. 

No  better  example  could  be  found,  showing  how  widely 
people  may  differ  in  many  respects,  yet  speak  the  same  lan- 
guage, be  of  the  same  blood  and  live  under  the  same  flag,  than 
to  take  a  representative  number  of  these  boys  from  Indiana, 
never  before  out  of  the  State,  and  compare  them  with  these 
men,  who  all  their  lives,  had  followed  the  sea.  The  peculiar  lan- 
guage of  the  sailors,  their  modes  of  expression,  the  names  by 
which  they  designated  the  things  connected  with  their  daily 
life,  their  pronunciation  of  names,  with  the  spelling  of  which 
we  were  more  or  less  familiar,  etc.,  etc.,  almost  dumbfounded 
us.  For  them  to  lift  or  move  anything,  or  pull  on  a  rope, 
never  failed  to  attract  our  attention,  and  often  drew  a  fair- 
sized  audience  of  Western  men.  In  raising  heavy  wooden 
buildings  in  Indiana,  we  had  sometimes  seen  one  man  stand 
out  in  front  and  give  the  he-o-he,  so  that  all  might  lift  together. 
But   these  sailors  did  not  pretend  to  exert  themselves  in  any 


TWENTY-SEVENTir    INDIANA.  421 

way  without  a  similar  performance.  It  may  be  that  they  saw 
it  amused  us  and  carried  it  to  extremes,  but  one  of  them  alone, 
pulling  on  a  rope  not  larger  than  a  clothes  line,  put  the  he  o- 
he's  in  for  himself. 

But  with  the  close  of  the  first  day  all  the  pleasure  and 
most  of  the  interest  of  the  writer,  in  the  journey  to  New  York, 
had  a  sudden  and  dismal  ending.  He  would  not  mention  the 
fact  only  that  his  experience  was  that  of  a  large  majority  of 
the  Twenty-Sev.enth.  He  remembers  the  balance  of  the  voy- 
age all  too  well,  though  not  by  any  means  on  account  of  the 
enjoyment  of  it.  He  has  laughed  about  it  many,  many  times, 
too,  but  he  was  far  from  laughing  at  that  time. 

We  had  not  been  out  on  the  ocean  long  until  most  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  became  violently  seasick,  and  a  large  propor- 
tion of  them  remained  so  as  long  as  we  were  on  the  vessel. 
During  the  first  night  we  could  hear  the  muffled  roar  of  the 
wind  and  the  lash  of  the  waves  against  the  ship,  indicating 
that  we  were  getting  well  out  to  sea,  and  that  it  was  not  very 
smooth.  Before  morning  the  writer  was  very  sick.  He  tried 
the  theory  of  perfect  quiet  until  nearly  noon  the  following 
day.  Then,  getting  no  better,  but  rather  worse,  he  decided  to 
try  the  air  upon  the  open   deck. 

The  ship  was  out  on  the  great  ocean.  No  land  was  in 
sight  in  any  direction.  There  was  nothing  in  sight  beyond  the 
confines  of  the  ship,  except  a  shoreless  expanse  of  rolling, 
plunging  and  dashing  water.  The  ship  itself,  which  had 
seemed  so  large,  now  seemed  a  mere  speck  in  such  a  bound- 
less space,  and  a  mere  toy  in  the  power  of  the  waves.  Expe- 
rienced ones  said  this  was  nothing,  it  was  no  storm  ;  the  wind 
was  only  a  little  "fresh,"  but  some  of  us  wondered  how  it 
would  be  if  there  was  a  storm. 

A  large  per  cent,  of  the  men  on  deck  were  arranged  along 
the  ship's  rail.  There  was  scarcely  room  there  for  another 
person.  And  those  who  occupied  that  position  were  not  there 
because  it  afforded  a  better  opportunity  for  observation.  They 
were  not  looking  at  anything  in  particular.  In  fact,  they  were 
not  interested  in  anything  in  particular.  As  far  as  they  were 
able  to  comprehend  anything  at  all,  they  supposed  that  they 
were  about  to  die  ;  and  as  far  as  they  were  able  to  care  for 
anything  at  all,  they  devoutly  wished  they  might  die  speedily. 
Most  of  their  time  was  diligently  occupied  in  paying  tribute 
to  Neptune.      In  other  words,  they  had  to  vomit   until  it  was 


422  HISTORY    OF    THE 

a  miracle  that  their  stomachs  should  contain  anything  more 
to  throw  up.  In  more  recent  years  the  writer  invariably  gets- 
sick  if  he  crosses  a  mill  pond,  but  no  subsequent  experience  has 
quite  equaled  that. 

We  saw  no  land  all  day.  Several  ships  were  sighted,  going 
in  various  directions.  The  only  one  we  came  very  near  to 
was  a  large  side- wheeler,  which  we  overtook  and  passed.  It 
was  laden  with  a  part  of  our  expedition,  and  had  started  ahead 
of  us. 

The  second  morning  found  us  running  along  the  New 
Jersey  coast,  approaching  the  New  York  harbor.  To  those 
who  felt  well,  this  approach  to  and  sail  up  the  harbor  must 
have  been  a  rare  treat.  Most  will  at  least  recall  how  we 
watched  the  schools  of  fish,  changing  the  color  of  the  water 
here  and  there,  the  rolling  of  the  porpoises,  the  droves  of  gulls 
following  the  ship,  lighting  on  the  water  to  pick  up  the 
crackers  we  threw  them,  sometimes  flying  so  close  to  us  that 
we  could  almost  touch  them,  the  taking  on  of  a  pilot,  passing 
through  the  Narrows,  with  the  forts  so  close  on  either  side, — 
their  great,  black  guns  pointing  toward  us,  and  their  flags 
dipping  in  salute.  Then,  as  we  made  our  way  up  towards  the 
city,  we  took  in  what  we  could  of  that  gigantic  panorama  of 
water  and  land  ;  the  ships  of  all  nations,  and  boats  and  crafts 
of  all  descriptions,  moving  and  at  rest;  the  various  islands,  and 
miles  and  miles  of  wharves  and  docks,  and  the  numberless 
points  of  interest  in  the  cities  beyond. 

Near  Governors  Island,  the  Merrimac  dropped  her  anchor, 
temporarily,  and  General  Ruger  went  ashore  to  report  and 
to  ask  for  orders.  During  this  delay  the  Russian  fleet,  which 
visited  our  country  in  war  time,  was  anchored  not  far  away. 
Much  importance  had  been  attached  to  its  arrival,  and  we 
strained  our  eyes  to  see  all  we  could  of  it.  It  was  understood 
even  then  that,  curious  as  it  might  seem,  the  fierce,  autocratic 
Russian  Bear  had  plainly  intimated  to  all  concerned,  that  he 
had  a  friendly  interest  in  Columbia,  even  if  she  did  stand  for 
the  absolute  equality  and  freedom  of  all  men,  and  that  all  who 
had  any  designs  against  her  had  better  look  a  little  out. 

The  delay  was  not  tedious,  but  it  must  have  been  an  hour 
or  more  before  the  Merrimac  resumed  her  course  and  landed 
us  at  the  foot  of  Canal  street,  North  River.  When  we  had 
debarked,  the  Twenty-seventh  parted  company  from  the  other 


t\venty-sevp:nth   ixdiana. 


423 


regiments  and  marched  down  the  second  or  third   street   back 
from  the  river,  directly  to  Battery  Park. 

While  landing  and  on  the  march  through  New  York,  we 
were  the  objects  of  more  jeers  and  insults,  and  were   obliged 


< 

o  , 

Cl 

C 

B' 

?a 

r^ 

^ 

n 

•-H 

n 

?3 

f-f. 

H 

o 

H    ^ 

rn 

w 

n 

z 

H 

„. 

C/) 

D 

■o 

1 

o 

■o 

to  listen  to  more  expressions  of  hatred  and  disloyalty  towards 
the  Government,  and  more  open  avowals  of  sympatiiy  for  the 
rebels  in  the  South,  than  we  ever  met  with  in  all  the  other 
cities  we  visited,  North  or  South.      Part  of  it  came  from  wo- 


424  HISTORY    OF    THE 

men  and  children,  but  much  of  it  came  from  men.  Nearly 
every  word  of  it  had  the  accent  of  some  foreign  tongue. 

Battery  Park  was  to  be  our  camp  ground  during  our  stay 
in  the  city.  At  first  we  pitched  our  tents  more  towards  the 
western  end,  in  the  vicinity  of  old  Castle  Garden.  Within  a 
day  or  two  we  moved  almost  to  its  eastern  extremity,  opposite 
South  Ferry.  We  put  up  our  shelter  tents  there  in  regular 
order,  and  lived  as  usual,  except  that  we  were  served  with 
meals  ready  cooked,  by  parties  not  connected  with  the  regi- 
ment. The  food  was  abundant  and  was  eaten  with  relish, 
though  there  were  often  visible  evidences  that  the  kitchen  was 
not  kept  as  scrupulously  clean  as  some  other  kitchens  are. 

While  it  is  not  down  in  the  books,  the  boys  still  remember 
the  "  Battle  of  Battery  Park,"  as  we  called  it.  The  evening 
we  arrived  there  the  Colonel  found  it  necessary  to  use  his 
sword,  in  connection  with  an  instance  of  insubordination. 
Two  or  three  men  defied,  first  their  company  officers  and  then 
the  Colonel,  and  there  was  some  vigorous  sword  exercise  for 
a  while,  slapping,  hacking  and  prodding,  indiscriminately. 
The  Colonel  chanced  to  have  at  the  time  only  a  light,  dress 
sword  belonging  to  the  quartermaster,  his  own  heavy  sabre 
being  back  on  the  ship.  (Otherwise  the  ending  might  have 
been  tragical. 

Possibly  the  whole  matter  should  be  omitted  from  these 
pages.  It  never  again  had  its  counterpart  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh  and  was  caused  now  by  whiskey.  The  men  most 
concerned  were,  ordinarily,  the  best  of  soldiers.  The  inci- 
dent we  always  considered  in  the  light  of  a  joke. 

The  drinking  places  were  as  open  to  soldiers  in  New 
York  as  to  others.  No  discrimination  could  be  arranged  for. 
The  Colonel  himself  had  this  set  before  him  in  a  vigorous 
fashion.  After  the  trouble  with  the  men,  just  mentioned,  he 
went  into  a  saloon,  opposite  the  camp,  and,  in  some  formal 
manner,  forbade  the  proprietor  selling  his  soldiers  liquor. 
He  was  asked  who  in  blank  he  was,  any  how,  and,  with 
sundry  adjectives  and  expletives,  such  as  saloon  men  (if  not 
army  officers)  are  commonly  w^ell  supplied  with,  he  was 
given  to  understand  that  his  authority  was  not  recognized  at 
all  in  that  establishment.  His  soldiers,  if  they  had  the  money, 
could  have  anvthing  in  the  place,  did  he  mind  that.''  So  it 
continued  to  be. 

But  here  may  be  a  hint  for  temperance  legislation.     From 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  425 

this  on,  the  restraint  was  placed  wholly  upon  the  consumer. 
It  was  enacted  that  the  minimum  of  excess  should  henceforth 
meet  with  the  maximum  of  punishment.  And  there  never 
was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  regiment,  when  intoxicants 
were  obtainable  at  all,  that  there  was  less  disorder,  or  other 
visible  effects  of  their  use. 

Every  day  but  one,  and  every  evening  but  two,  during 
our  stay  in  New  York  the  men  not  on  duty  went  out  into  the 
city,  almost  at  will.  The  evening  before  and  the  whole  of  the 
day  and  evening  upon  which  the  draft  was  made,  we  stood  by 
our  guns.  That  is,  we  remained  in  camp,  with  everything  in 
readiness  for  instant  action. 

Unhappily,  many  of  us  were  too  young,  or  inexperienced, 
to  reap  the  best  advantages  from  a  visit  to  a  great  city.  There 
was  also  a  lack  of  pocket  money  with  some.  That  may  have 
been  a  blessing  in  disguise,  though  it  seemed  a  grievous  depri- 
vation at  the  time.  Without  the  faintest  dream  of  having  any 
such  a  call  for  money,  most  of  our  allowances  had  been 
promptly  sent  home  after  the  previous  pay  day,  and  the 
modest  sums  retained  had  about  gone  for  other  uses.  The 
writer  sent  home  urgently  for  money  and  received  it — at  Tul- 
lahoma,  Tennessee. 

New  York  itself  was  far  from  being  then  what  it  is  now. 
Any  one  of  a  dozen  cities  of  our  reunited  and  regenerated 
Republic  of  the  present  day  have  far  more  in  them  to  interest 
and  instruct  a  visitor  than  the  metropolis  then  afforded.  The 
greatest  wonder  to  most  of  us  was  doubtless  the  city  itself — its 
location,  size  and  greatness,  its  stately  buildings,  its  throng- 
ing, busy  streets  and  the  ceaseless  dim  and  hub-bub  of  its  vast, 
uncounted  industries. 

Our  Western  merchants  usually  visited  New  York  at  least 
twice  a  year,  before  the  war.  From  them,  and  others,  we  had 
heard  of  some  of  its  noteworthy  places.  These,  as  far  as  we 
could  recall  them,  we  tried  to  hunt  up  and  visit.  Barnum's 
museum  headed  the  list,  as  a  rule.  A.  T.  Stewart's  great 
store,  \Vashington  Market,  Central  Park,  Trinity  Church  and 
church-yard,  etc.,  etc.,  had  a  place  on  most  lists. 

It  was  very  common  for  Western  people  visiting  New 
York  at  this  period,  to  go  over  to  Brooklyn  and  hear  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  at  least  once.  His  fame  as  a  great  preacher 
had  reached  everywhere.  But  he  was  absent  during  our  visit. 
The  leading  theatres   were  also  closed   for   the   hot   weather, 


426  HISTORY    OF    THE 

though  some  of  none  too  high  a  grade  were  open,  and  received 
patronage  from  some  of  us  that  we  do  not  now  recall  with 
pride,  as  did  also  other  species  of  amusement  and  indulgences 
that  every  true  man  can  only  regret,  later  in  life. 

Every  day  we  came  to  be  on  better  terms  with  the  citi- 
zens of  the  vicinity.  At  first  many  of  them  had  not  only 
resented  our  presence  in  the  city,  but  they  had  been  mortally 
offended  at  our  occupancy  of  the  park,  and  the  refusal  of  our 
guards,  under  their  instructions,  to  allow  them  to  pass  through. 
The  day  after  our  arrival,  being  Sunday,  hundreds  of 
them  came  and,  when  they  found  their  privileges  in  the 
park  restricted,  they  became  very  indignant.  Even  the  city 
police  undertook  at  first  to  force  our  guards,  in  the  interest  of 
these  citizens.  Martial  law  had  not  been  declared  in  New 
York,  and  there  was  some  question  as  to  the  rights  of  the 
military.  This,  we  understood  at  the  time,  was  why  the  park 
fence  soon  ceased  to  be  our  guard  line,  and  no  attempt  was 
made  after  that  to  close  any  gate  to  the  citizens.  But  the 
space  occupied  by  our  camp  we  held  inviolate,  and  no  citizen 
was  allowed  to  invade  it  without  permission. 

All  of  this  friction  soon  vanished.  Within  a  day  or  two 
after  our  arrival,  it  came  to  be  an  assured  fact  that  any  soldier 
from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  a  sure  and  abiding  friend 
in  any  city  policeman,  wherever  he  might  meet  him.  A 
marked  change  was  early  apparent  also  with  the  people 
They  became  greatly  interested  in  our  military  exercises. 
Our  guard  mounts  and  drills  were  always  witnessed  by  large 
numbers  of  them  and,  if  the  weather  was  pleasant,  an  immens^ 
multitude  was  invariably  on  hand  to  admire  and  applaud  our 
dress  parades.  The  fact  that  we  had  seen  service  at  the  front, 
and  especially  that  we  had  actually  been  in  so  many  bloody 
battles,  gave  us  an  evident  prestige  with  them.  All  positions, 
all  virtues  and  all  graces  pay  ready  homage  to  valor. 

The  citizens  were  warming  to  us  personally,  too,  as  we 
were  warming  to  them.  Some  of  us  were  forming  personal 
acquaintances  and  receiving  numerous  little  favors.  Some 
had  relatives  come  on  from  home  to  visit  them,  and  a  still 
larger  number  had  relatives  and  friends  residing  East,  who- 
called  upon  them.  The  situation  was  delightful,  with  a  pros- 
pect of  its  getting  better  and  better.  A  rumor  was  current 
that  we  were  to  remain  in  New  York  for  at  least  another 
week.     It  was  a  lovely  Sunday  morning,  and  we  were  very 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  427 

happy.  But,  as  a  peal  of  thunder  out  of  a  clear  sky,  we 
received  orders  before  noon  of  that  day  (September  5),  to 
march,  and  before  dark  were  aboard  ship  for  the  return 
passage. 

This  time  we  were  taken  directly  from  Battery  Park  by 
a  smaller  boat  out  to  (he  Mississippi,  the  exact  mate  of  the 
Merrimac.  Only  the  three  regiments  of  our  brigade  were 
embarked  on  this  ship,  though  all  our  baggage  and  effects, 
including  officers'  horses  and  those  in  charge,  were  loaded  with 
us  this  time;  while  on  the  trip  coming  these  were  on  a  sepa- 
rate vessel.  The  Third  Wisconsin  and  Second  Massachusetts 
marched  to  Battery  Park  and  were  transferred  to  the  Missis- 
sippi in  the  same  manner  as  ourselves,  as  were  also  the 
baggage  and  animals.  Both  of  the  latter  were  raised  up  from 
the  small  boat  to  the  deck  of  the  ship  by  means  of  a  derrick, 
with  ropes  and  windlass.  The  loading  consumed  almost  the 
whole  night.  One  of  the  horses  struggled  out  of  his  support, 
while  being  hoisted  up,  and  fell  back,  twelve  or  fifteen  feet, 
to  the  deck  of  the  small  boat,  but  it  did  not  injure  him  per- 
manently. 

During  our  whole  time  in  New  York  our  camp  swarmed 
with  little  street  gamins,  selling  papers,  peddling  various 
articles,  singing  simple  songs,  playing  on  instruments  of  music, 
performing  some  little  trick  or  acrobatic  feat,  doing  any  and 
everything  to  turn  a  penny.  Bright  and  quick,  in  their  way, 
as  chipmunks,  some  of  them  were  attractive  and  their  accom- 
plishments were  surprising.  All  of  them  seemed  to  be  entirely 
homeless,  either  from  choice  or  necessity.  They  were  more 
than  willing,  not  only  to  share  our  meals,  but  also  to  sleep 
with  us,  or  to  sleep  anywhere  about  the  camp.  Now  that  we 
were  leaving  the  city,  scores,  if  not  hundreds  of  them,  begged 
to  accompany  us.  We  already  knew  too  much  of  the  vicis- 
situdes ahead  to  indulge  many  of  them  in  their  ambition. 
Still,  a  few  of  them  were,  in  one  way  or  another,  taken  along. 
They  were  with  us  until  we  reached  the  Rappahannock  and 
afterwards,  but  just  when  they  left  us,  or  what  became  of 
them,  the  writer  is  not  advised.  Some  middle-aged  man,  not 
unlikely  leading  an  honorable,  useful  life,  may  read  these 
pages  and  recall  that  he  was  one  of  tiiose  diminutive  waifs 
that  drifted  away  from  the  great  city  witli  the  Indiana 
soldiers. 

Early  the  next  morning,  before  some  of  us   were  awake. 


428  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  Mississippi  pulled  up  her  anchor  and  moved  down  the  bay, 
headed  for  the  Potomac  direct. 

The  return  passage  resembled  the  one  going,  except  that 
the  sea  was  inore  quiet,  and  not  so  many  were  sea-sick.  Some, 
however,  who  were  well  throughout  the  former  passage  were 
now  desperately  afflicted.  This  evened  up  matters  in  dif- 
ferent ways.  Where  they  had  made  light  of  those  sick  before, 
they  now  received  similar  treatment ;  and  where  they  had 
been  considerate  and  helpful,  they  found  it  agreeable  to  get 
their  pay  in  kind.      It  is  often  thus. 

If  possible,  this  captain  was  more  jovial,  and  had  a  warmer 
heart  for  soldiers,  than  the  other.  Both  of  them  were  stout, 
heavy  men,  with  an  endless  flow  of  good  feeling  for  all  the 
world,  and  they  both  humored  and  indulged  the  men  with 
muskets,  as  if  determined  to  give  them  as  much  of  a  holiday 
as  possible,  while  riding  with  them.  This  one  could  spin 
sailor  yarns  like  oil  running  out  of  a  bung  hole.  There  was 
little  time,  when  he  was  in  sight  at  all,  that  he  did  not  have 
all  the  boys  around  him,  listening  to  his  Munchausen-like 
tales,  that  could  find  standing  room  within  hearing.  Our 
former  experiences  with  the  sailors  were  simply  duplicated 
also.  Most  of  us  could  not  be  certain  that  these  were  not  the 
same  men,  transferred  to  another  ship. 

By  2  :00  p.  M.,  of  the  third  day  we  were  again  at  Alex- 
andria, and  that  night  we  occupied  the  same  open  square 
where  we  had  waited  previously. 

At  this  point  we  received  a  very  hurried  visit  from 
Governor  Morton.  There  was  some  disappointment,  in  that 
he  did  not  arrive  until  it  was  almost  too  dark  to  see  him 
well,  and  his  time  was  so  limited  that  he  could  only  say  a  few 
words  to  the  regiment.  Still,  it  cheered  and  encouraged  us 
greatly.  The  prestige  of  Indiana  as  a  state,  and  our  own 
state  pride,  were  greatly  enhanced  by  the  exceedingly  favor- 
able impression  he  made  upon  the  troops  from  other  states, 
which  had  flocked  around  to  see  and  hear  him.  His  stalwart 
form,  and  the  few  words  he  spoke,  which  were  even  more 
stalwart  than  his  form,  set  the  men  from  other  states  on  fire. 
They  never  ceased  talking  about  it.  The  good  people  of 
Indiana  will  never  know  the  full  measure  of  the  debt  they 
owe  Oliver  P.  Morton,  for  the  unstinted  loyalty,  the  colossal 
ability  and  the  tireless  energy,  with  which  he  rallied  her  citi- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  429 

zens  to  the  support  of  the  Union,  and  stimulated  and  strength- 
ened her  soldiers  in  the  field. 

The  balance  of  the  trip  back  to  the  army  was  too  well 
written  up  by  Chaplain  Qriint  of  the  Second  Massachusetts 
to  admit  of  being  rewritten.      lie  says  : 

"We  left  Alexandria  (our  tliree  regiments)  about  two  a.  m.  on 
Thursday,  September  10th.  Our  expectations  that  transportation  by 
rail  would  be  furnished  to  us  as  it  had  been  to  other  troops  of  our  expedi- 
tion were  frustrated  and  we  started  over  a  road  familiar  to  the  army  of 
Virginia,  and  in  parts  to  us,  as  our  native  state.  The  present  march  was 
the  first  direct  and  entire  one  over  the  straight  road,  though  we  had  before 
been  over  roads  parallel  for  the  same  distance. 

"  We  made  eight  miles  that  day.  What  a  waste  that  country  is! 
About  seven  miles  from  Alexandria  is  Annandale — called  a  '  dale'  doubt- 
less from  its  being  situated  on  an  elevated  plain,  just  as  the  South  calls 
itself  'chivalric'  because  it  whips  women  and  sells  babies.  Annandale 
was  made  up  of  half  a  dozen  houses;  now  it  comprises  one  or  two  houses, 
and  the  balance  in  chimneys.  There  was  also  one  fence,  a  weak  attempt 
— a  kind  of  'poor  but  loyal'  fence,  probably.  There  is  a  small  stream 
just  south  of  this,  on  the  south  bank  of  which  we  camped. 

"  At  four  A.  M.  reveille.  At  six  A.  m.  we  were  on  the  road.  And  so 
was  a  long  train  of  fresh  horses,  gojng  to  the  army  under  cavalry  escort. 
The  method  of  security  was  by  attaching — say  fifty — horses  on  each  side 
of  a  long  rope  extending  from  a  wagon  m  front  to  a  wagon  in  rear.  It 
was  amusing  to  see  the  starting  after  any  halt;  the  horses'  legs  being  on 
all  sides  of  every  rope  at  once. 

"  But  it  was  not  amusing  to  have  the  affair  on  the  road.  Despite 
all  efforts  at  peace,  the  cavalry  managers  tried  to  interfere  with  us  con- 
tinually. If  we  halted,  they  halted.  When  westarted,  they  would  make 
an  effort  to  break  our  line.  At  one  place  they  succeeded  in  driving  a 
wagon  of  our  detachment  into  a  ditch,  and  breaking  some  part.  As  more 
trouble  was  likely  to  ensue,  our  commander  wheeled  a  guard  across  the 
road.  Thereupon  a  young  lieutenant  drew  his  pistol  on  the  guard;  but  a 
dozen  Indiana  bayonets  pointing  instantly  at  his  breast,  he  (juickly  con- 
cluded to  postpone  his  funeral,  which  would  certainly  have  been  provided 
for  the  moment  he  had  fired  a  shot. 

"At  a  subsequent  attempt  of  that  train  to  make  trouble,  the  butts 
of  muskets  were  used  with  great  success,  the  only  mistake  being  in  not 
using  the  steel,  for  we  were  clearly  in  the  right.  The  dust,  too,  was  a 
nuisance.  Imagine  a  road  covered  with  the  dryest  and  finest  powder — 
cavalry  starting  it  up— and  you  can  conceive  of  a  road  in  which  a  decent 
breath  was  next  to  impossible.  Add  the  want  of  water,  and  pity  the 
troops.  And  then  we  met  an  immense  train  of  empty  wagons  of  sutlers, 
coming  on  under  escort— it  seemed  unendurable.  How  many  a  soldier  will 
recognize  such  a  description! 

"  But  we  had  some  relief;  having  passed  through  desolate  Fairfax, 
we  arrived  within  half  a  mile  of  Centerville,  and  halted.  *  *  *  Here 
the  men  had  their  dinner,  such  as  it  was.  And  then  passing  between  the 
old  breastworks,  we  went  to  Bull  Run. 


430  HISTORY    OF    THE 

"  Having  had  a  march  of  seventeen  miles  already,  there  being  no 
need  of  haste,  the  men  being  footsore  and  tired,  there  being  plenty  of 
water  there,  and  none  of  any  consequence  for  miles  onward,  after  a  rest 
the  order  came,  of  course,  to  '  fall  in.'  We  did  so,  and  went  on  three 
miles  to  Manassas  Junction,  and  got  m  camp  after  dark,  and  obtained  a 
little  dirty  water;  to  be  roused  up  at  four  A.  m.  again. 

■'  Then  to  start  and  to  see  no  signs  of  life  for  miles,  except  as  the 
army  gave  them.  Chimneys  were  plenty.  Indeed,  if  any  enterprising 
man  wants  ready  made  chimneys,  as  being-  handy  in  case  of  building,  he 
conld  doubtless  drive  a  good  trade,  and  lay  in  a  large  stock  on  this  road. 
Four  miles  brought  us  to  Bristow  Station — to  accomplish  which  reversely 
last  year  cost  us  twenty  miles  of  detour.  At  Bristow  we  found  friends, 
the  Thirty-third  Massachusetts,  whose  splendid  band  played  for  us  as  we 
moved  on.  There  was  the  spot  where,  last  year,  we  witnessed  the  burn- 
ing of  half  a  mile  of  cars;  the  one  building  then  standing  being  now  gone. 

"  A  few  miles  farther,  on  the  edge  of  Kettle  Run,  was  the  spot 
where  we  lay  all  day  idle,  in  sound  of  the  battle  of  Manassas — with  as 
many  troops,  I  think,  as  Fitz  John  Porter  was  cashiered  for  the  alleged  rea- 
son of  not  bringing  in;  the  numberwhich,  it  was  stated,  would  have  secured 
victory.  From  that  point  the  heat  was  intense.  There  was  literally  no 
water.  The  men  suffered  accordingly.  But  after  occasional  rests,  we 
halted  at  Catlett's,  where  a  little  moist  dirt  was  tried  to  quench  thirst; 
halted  for  two  hours  within  a  mile  of  our  destined  camp,  and  so  got  wet, 
but  relieved,  by  a  thunder  shower. 

"  The  next  morning  we  marched  to  Bealton,  every  inch  of  the  road 
historical  and  familiar.  The  march  was  pleasanter  for  the  rain  of  the 
day  before,  and  another  that  morning  had  laid  the  dust.  The  evil  of 
occasional  muddy  spots  was  more  than  balanced  by  the  absence  of 
clouds  of  dust.  All  day  the  sunshine  and  clouds  strove  for  mastery. 
Sometimes  it  was  intensely  hot,  but  then  a  friendly  cloud  would  inter- 
pose its  sun-shade,  and  relieve  us.  Miles  more  brought  us  to  camp.  How 
pleasant  it  seemed  to  get  back.  The  Thirteenth  New  Jersey  were  drawn 
in  line  and  welcomed,  with  cheers,  each  of  our  regiments  back  to  the 
stout  old  Third  Brigade;  and  so  we  settled  down. 

"  We  have  moved  since.  We  heard  that  day  the  noise  of  artillery 
as  we  were  getting  home  again." 


CHAPTER  XXVlll. 


TO  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND. 

The  move  mentioned  by  Chaplain  Qiiint  in  the  previous 
chapter  was  a  short  one  only,  made  the  second  day  after  our 
return  from  New  York.  The  regiments  of  the  brigade  left 
behind  then  had  been  scourged  with  sickness  in  our  absence, 
and  it  was  thought  best  to  change  the  camp.  It  aroused  our 
suspicions,  however,  when  we  were  ordered  to  elevate  our 
bunks.  There  are  few  recorded  instances  when  we  received 
such  orders  that  it  did  not  presage  a  move.  In  this  instance 
we  moved  the  next  day. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  September  IG,  with  our  division 
the  Twenty-seventh  crossed  the  Rappahannock,  near  where 
our  camp  had  been,  and  marched  southward  to  Stevensburg. 
We  could  see  that  a  large  part  of  the  army  was  involved  in 
the  advance.  Troops  not  closely  related  to  us  were  ahead  the 
first  day.  The  next  day  the  march  southward  was  continued, 
but  no  other  troops  were  ahead  of  the  Third  Brigade  except 
cavalry.  As  we  neared  the  Rapidan  river  we  did  considerable 
extra  marching,  in  order  to  keep  behind  timber  or  hills,  so 
the  enemy  could  not  see  nor  molest  us.  We  at  length  halted 
in  the  vicinity  of  Raccoon  Ford. 

The  river  at  this  point  is  not  over  seventy-five  yards 
wide.  Immediately  on  the  opposite  bank  were  the  outposts 
of  the  enemy,  and  slightly  farther  back  we  could  see  the  fresh 
dirt  of  his  entrenchments  among  the  bushes.  When  we 
arrived  our  cavalrymen  were  making  lots  of  noise  with  their 
carbines  and  the  men  on  the  other  side  were  returning  the  fire 
with  equal  energy.  For  a  time  after  the  cavalry  was  relieved 
by  the  infantry  the  relations  between  the  two  sides  were 
extremely  hostile.  The  least  exposure  on  the  part  of  either 
drew  the  fire  of  the  other  instantly.  For  this  reason  picket 
details  had  to  be  changed  entirely  at  night.  In  some  instances 
individual  pickets  could  not  be  relieved  at  all  through  the  day. 

A  detail  from  the  Twenty-seventh  was  required  to  maintain 
one  post  at   a    point    where    the    hazard   was  exceptional    and 


432  HISTOUY    OF    THE 

must  have  been  unadvisable.  The  larger  part  of  a  company 
was  stationed  in  an  ordinary  frame  house,  in  point  blank 
range  of  the  enemy's  works.  l"he  men  were  placed  there 
after  dark  one  evening  and  required  to  remain  until  after 
dark  the  following  evening.  Their  position  was  only  tenable 
by  their  lying  low  and  keeping  the  enemy  in  ignorance  of 
their  presence.  A  musket  ball  would  cut  through  the  walls 
of  the  house  at  any  point  as  easy  as  through  a  paper  box, 
unless  it  happened  to  hit  a  studding.  One  day  in  particular, 
that  the  writer  happens  to  know  about,  the  rebels  seemed  to 
have  a  suspicion  that  all  was  not  right  in  this  house.  At 
intervals  all  day  they  sent  balls  whizzing  through  it.  They 
had  men,  too,  who  could  hit  a  mark.  The  night  previous  an 
officer  had  unintentionally  left  his  little,  double-pocket  haver- 
sack hanging  m  an  exposed  place.  When  light  dawned  in 
the  morning,  zip,  zip,  two  balls  pierced  the  haversack  in 
quick  succession. 

That  same  day  two  colonels  from  the  Third  Brigade  took 
it  into  their  heads  to  venture  out  and  take  observations  along 
the  picket  line.  It  was  reported  among  the  rabble  with 
muskets  that  the  visit  was  the  result  of  a  convivial  time  the 
two  had  been  having  together  in  one  of  their  tents.  Those 
who  know  something  of  colonels,  these  two  in  particular,  will 
have  their  own  opinion  about  that.  Anyway,  when  they 
came  back  to  camp,  they  had  ver}'  bland,  child-like  expres- 
sions on  their  faces,  and  stole  furtive  glances  at  each  other, 
out  of  the  corners  of  their  eyes,  in  a  way  that  gave  a  hint  of 
something.  Considerable  nimble  running  and  very  lively 
dodging,  which  some  of  our  pickets  saw,  as  well  as  sundry 
bullet  holes  through  a  blouse  or  two  that  had  eagles  on  their 
shoulders,  furnished  a  fuller  explanation. 

But  infantry  never  relished  this  species  of  warfare,  and 
within  forty-eight  hours  an  amicable  truce  was  arranged 
between  the  men  of  the  two  sides,  whereby  such  individual 
carnage  came  to  an  end.  There  was  also  the  usual  exchange 
of  newspapers,  bartering  of  coffee  for  tobacco,  inquiries  after 
the  fate  of  relatives  and  friends  inside  of  the  respective 
lines,  etc. 

On  the  20th,  our  division  moved  back  from  the  river, 
perhaps  a  mile,  and  went  into  camp,  in  a  more  regular  way. 
Before  that  we  had  been  very  much  restricted  about  fires,, 
noises  and  everything  likely  to  draw  the  shot  of  the  rebels. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  483 

It  was  while  in  that  cramped  situation  that  the  military 
execution  took  place,  heretofore  mentioned.  The  man's  name, 
or  boy's — he  was  only  twenty — was  Albert  Jones.  It  was 
said  that  he  was  really  from  Indiana,  though  he  had  belonged 
to  a  Maryland  regiment,  and  that  his  real  name  was  not 
Jones.  His  offense  was  desertion  and  was  aggravated,  having 
been  repeated  under  circumstances  that  added  to  its  enormity. 

The  troops  had  been  previously  advised  in  orders  of  the 
work  in  hand.  A  detail  of  enlisted  men  from  each  regiment 
had  been  made  to  serve  in  the  firing  squad.  The  guns  of  the 
detail  were  loaded  by  others,  not  connected  with  it.  Half  of 
them  were  loaded  with  balls  and  half  without,  so  that  no  one 
would  need  know  that  he  had  fired  the  fatal  shot. 

At  the  hour  appointed  all  of  the  division,  not  on  other 
duty,  marched,  under  arms,  to  the  field  designated,  and 
formed  on  three  sides  of  a  square.  There  were  probably  5  000 
soldiers  present,  of  all  ranks.  The  position  assigned  to  the 
Twenty-seventh  was  directly  opposite  the  open  side  of  the 
square,  and  at  that  open  side  a  freshly  dug  grave  was  plainly 
visible.  Very  soon,  the  provost  guard  and  the  firing  squad, 
arrived,  conducting  the  prisoner.  The  latter  was  seated  in 
an  open  ambulance,  with  a  chaplain  beside  him.  Behind  these 
followed  another  open  ambulance  hauling  a  coffin.  This 
gruesome  procession  moved  slowly  up  and  formed  about  the 
grave,  the  provost  guard  being  alligned  on  either  side  of  it. 
The  coffin  was  taken  out  of  the  ambulance  and  placed  on  the 
ground  in  front  of  the  grave,  and  the  prisoner  was  seated  upon 
it,  facing  the  square  of  troops.  The  firing  squad,  divided 
into  two  platoons,  was  formed  in  front  of  the  prisoner,  fac- 
ing towards  him. 

Then  there  was  an  interval  during  which,  at  our  distance, 
we  could  hear  nothing.  We  were  informed  afterwards  that 
at  this  time  the  finding  ami  sentence  of  the  court-martial  and 
the  order  for  the  execution  were  read,  prayer  was  offered  by 
the  chaplain,  and  the  prisoner  shook  hands  with  the  chaplain, 
the  captain  of  the  provost  guard,  and  others  who  he  felt  had 
befriended  him,  bidding  them  good  bye,  etc.,  etc.,  after  which 
he  was  blindfolded. 

These  preliminaries  over,  there  was  a  withdrawal  of  all 
parties  to  a  safe  distance,  except  the  firing  squad  and  the  pris- 
oner.    The  latter  sat  upon  his  coffin  alone.      For  a  very  solemn 

moment  all   was  silent.     Then   the   commander  of   the  firing 
28 


434  HISTORY    OF    THE 

squad  called  the  first  platoon  to  attention  and,  in  slow,  meas- 
ured tones,  gave  the  command,  Ready — Aim — Fire!  A  sharp 
volley  rang  out,  almost  as  the  report  of  a  single  musket.  As 
we  strained  our  eyes,  we  saw  the  body  of  the  wretched 
deserter  fall  slowly  forward  a  short  distance,  then  lurch  more 
heavily  side  ways,  and  roll  off  upon  the  ground.  The  second 
platoon  of  the  firing  squad  Avas  not  needed. 

Two  or  three  surgeons  gathered  about  the  prostrate  form, 
and  gravely  stooping  down  and  making  the  necessary  exami- 
nations, pronounced  the  man  dead.      So  it  was  recorded. 

The  body  was  then  placed  in  the  cofiin,  the  fatal  wounds 
were  laid  bare  and  the  troops  were  marched  by  in  two  ranks, 
that  they  might  have  a  nearer  view  of  what  had  been  done. 
Approaching  the  coflin,  the  ranks  were  separated,  one  passing 
on  either  side.  There  were  five  bullet  holes,  all  in  the  breast, 
one  for  each  loaded  musket.  The  open  palm  of  a  man's  hand 
would  easily  have  covered  them  all. 

The  face  of  the  dead  man  had  a  youthful  appearance,  and 
was  not  coarse,  brutal  and  debased  as  the  faces  of  the  reckless  and 
criminal  so  commonly  are.  On  the  contrary  it  was  rather  intel- 
lectual and  refined.  The  execution  evidently  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  all,  though  not  a  word  was  uttered  in  con- 
demnation of  it.  More  than  this,  it  was  heartily  approved  by 
every  one.  The  on])-  regret  that  found  expression  in  the 
Twenty-seventh  was  that  we  could  not  have  some  of  our  own 
deserters  there,  to  serve  them  in  a  like  manner. 

But  the  Twenty-seventh,  and  a  large  number  of  the  troops 
Avith  which  we  were  associated,  were  upon  the  eve  of  start- 
ling developments  affecting  them  personally.  General  Meade 
had  made  this  move  from  the  Rappahannock  to  the  Rapidan 
upon  his  own  motion.  His  reason  was  that,  some  days  before, 
he  had  learned  of  Longstreet  being  detached  from  Lee's  army, 
with  his  command,  to  reinforce  the  rebel  army  in  Georgia.  On 
the  19th  and  20th  of  September,  while  we  were  lying  so  close 
to  the  Rapidan,  and  to  the  position  of  our  adversaries,  the 
battle  of  Chickamauga  was  being  fought.  Even  before  it  be- 
gan, Meade  had  received  orders  from  Washington  not  to  bring 
on  a  battle  here.  The  authorities  there  hesitated  at  that  period 
about  fighting  two  great  battles  at  one  time.  Just  as  though 
that  was  not  the  only  way  to  prevent  the  enemy,  with  his 
shorter  and  more  direct  lines  of  communication,  from  concen- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA .  435 

trating   first    against  one   of  our  armies,  and  tlien  against  an- 
other. 

We  heard  of  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  on  the  22d.  Be- 
fore that  it  had  been  decided  that  we  should  go  to  that  far-away 
section  of  country,  involving  a  journey  of  about  1,200  miles. 
During  a  conference  at  Washington,  when  the  question  of 
how  to  reinforce  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  was  under  dis- 
cussion, the  superintendent  of  military  railroads  was  sent  for 
and  was  asked,  "  How  long  will  it  require,  with  the  facili- 
ties available,  to  transport  20,000  soldiers  from  the  Rappahan- 
nock, in  Virginia,  to  Bridgeport,  Alabama.?"  After  stipulat- 
ing a  very  few  conditions,  he  replied  promptly,  "  Six  days." 
To  the  question,  "  When  can  you  begin?"  he  replied  unhesi- 
tatingly, "To-night."     That  settled  it. 

Just  how  it  was  determined  as  to  what  troops  should  go 
to  the  Western  army,  the  writer  has  met  with  no  authoritative 
statement.  There  was  a  report  that  General  Meade  protested 
against  the  sending  of  the  Twelfth  Corps,  preferring  to  part 
with  other  troops,  though,  as  far  as  the  writer's  researches 
have  extended,  no  positive  confirmation  of  this  report  has 
turned  up.  The  natural  inference  seems  to  be,  that  the 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth,  being  the  two  highest  numbers  con- 
nected with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  if  any  corps  were  to 
be  detached  entire,  the  lot  would  fall  to  them.  Besides,  as  a 
whole,  the  troops  composing  these  two  corps  had  been  con- 
nected with  that  army  a  shorter  time  than  others.  At  all 
events,  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Corps  were  to  go.  General 
Hooker  was  to  have  command  of  the  two,  in  some  sense  as  a 
separate  army. 

The  first  intimation  of  a  move  reached  us  on  the  28d.  A 
few  of  the  higher  officers  doubtless  knew  earlier  of  our  desti- 
nation, but  definite  information  came  to  the  most  of  us  only  by 
degrees.  That  which  first  foreshadowed  something  unusual 
was  an  order  to  draw  eight  days'  rations.  That  of  itself  was 
not  unusual,  but  the  men  of  another  corps  near  us  did  not 
receive  the  same  orders. 

When  we  moved,  on  the  24th,  we  moved  to  the  rear,  back 
through  Stevensburg  and  thence  to  Brandy  Station,  on  the 
railroad.  Here  orders  came  to  turn  in  at  once  our  mules,  wagons, 
etc.  This  was  more  than  we  had  done  a  few  weeks  before, 
when  starting  to  New  York.  So  we  concluded  it  meant  some- 
thing more  than  a  temporary  absence.     Of  course  the  air  was 


436  HISTORY    OF    THE 

full  of  rumors.  That  we  were  going  west  was  one.  That 
we  were  going  to  the  seacoast  was  again  rumored.  Perhaps 
other  points  were  mentioned.  Those  who  were  out,  spying 
around,  saw  some  of  the  troops  embark  on  cars  and  start 
northward. 

All  day,  on  the  25th,  we  lay  in  suspense  at  Brandy.  In 
the  forenoon  another  deserter  was  shot,  belonging  to  the  One 
Hundred  and  Forty-fifth  New  York.  The  regulations  for  the 
execution  were  the  same  as  a  few  days  previous,  except  that 
not  so  many  troops  were  taken  out  to  witness  it. 

On  the  26th,  our  brigade  marched  to  Bealton  Station,  as 
did  also  most,  if  not  all,  of  our  division.  This  march  was  a 
tantalizing  mystery.  It  imposed  a  hardship,  to  all  appear- 
ances, wholly  unnecessary.  If  the  cars  could  carry  us  1,1 8& 
miles,  why  not  the  other  ten?  After  trudging  the  ten  miles^ 
in  sight  of  the  railroad  all  the  way,  and  crossing  the  Rappa- 
hannock on  the  railroad  bridge,  which  was  apparently  in  per- 
fect repair,  we  found  cars  waiting  at  Bealton.  As  soon  as 
our  turn  came,  the  Twenty-seventh  got  aboard,  and  this 
proved  to  be  the  place  where  we  took  final  leave  of  Old  Vir- 
ginia. It  was  almost  dark  when  we  arrived  at  Bealton  and 
we  left  there  in  the  night. 

Early  next  morning  found  us  in  Washington,  at  the  foot 
of  Capitol  Hill,  on  the  west.  There  was  then  a  track  con- 
necting the  railroads  from  across  the  Potomac  directly  with 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad. 

Though  the  rumors  of  our  going  west  had  been  asserted 
with  more  and  more  plausibility,  there  was  still  some  doubt 
about  it  until  now.  When  we  reached  Washington  and  did 
not  receive  orders  to  vacate  the  cars,  we  considered  the  point 
as  finally  settled. 

The  engine  which  had  pulled  us  in  had  been  detached  and 
taken  away.  Two  other  trains,  besides  ours,  stood  on  the 
track,  in  the  same  way.  Shortly,  a  monster  camel-back  engine 
backed  around  the  curve.  It  was  coupled  on  to  the  first  train, 
backed  it  up  and  coupled  it  to  the  second,  backed  both  up  and 
coupled  them  to  the  third.  Then,  after  some  shrill  whew! 
whews !  it  moved  sturdily  forward  with  all  three — around 
past  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  depot,  and  out  on  the  straight 
track  towards  Relay  Junction. 

All  the  troops  cheered  lustily  and  long,  especially  the 
men  of  the   Twenty-seventh.      Still,  with  us  there  was  som.e 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


437 


sudden  revulsion  of  sentiment.  We  had  never  felt  quite 
satisfied  with  our  position  in  the  Eastern  army.  We 
seemed  so  far  away  from  home  there  and  so  much  isolated 
from  the  soldiers  with  whom  it  was  natural  that  we  should 
affliliate.  And,  because  of  these  things,  as  we  believed,  we 
had  been  the  victims  of  some  unjust  aspersions  and  our  days 
had  been  made  more  burdensome  and  galling  than  necessary, 
with  few  to  sympathize  or  encourage.  As  will  appear  in 
these  pages,  our  minds  have  never  been   entirely  disabused  as 


Ass't.-Surg.  G.  V,  Woollen. 
(Recent  portrait.) 


Ass't.-Surg.  G.  V.  Woollen. 

(In  war  time.) 


to  the  facts,  whatever  new  developments  have  come  about  to 
explain  the  facts. 

But,  now  that  a  change  was  coming,  we  could  see  that 
the  question  had  two  sides.  The  Twenty-seventh  had,  at  this 
time,  its  full  share  of  the  pride,  which  all  who  were  ever  con- 
nected with  it  will  always  cherish,  for  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac. We  all  believed  in  it,  heart  and  soul,  and  we  all  gloried 
in  being  identified  with  its  history.  All  of  us  insisted  that  its 
failures  and  defeats  were  the  result  of  incompetency  and  mis- 
management on  our  side,  as  opposed  to  the  best  troops  and 
the  best  directed  efforts  of  the  enemy.  Over  and  over  we  had 
asserted  that,  as  a  rule,  no  soldiers  could   be  braver  or  more 


438  HISTORY    OF    THE 

heroic  in  battle.  We  had  had  occasion  to  do  this  because  of 
the  belief  so  widely  prevalent  in  the  West,  and  nowhere  more 
so  than  among  our  friends  and  relatives  in  the  Western  armies, 
that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  a  "paper-collar,"  "soft- 
bread,"  "feather-bed,"  "review  and  dress-parade"  army,  and 
that  it  would  not  fight.  These  thing  were  constantly  being 
said  to  us  in  the  letters  we  received,  or  whenever  any  of  us  met 
Western  people  or  Western  soldiers.  The  disagreeable  nature 
of  our  situation  was  that  we  were  thus  between  two  fires. 
Because  we  were  from  the  "wild  and  woolly  West,"  pro- 
nounced Indiana  "  Ean-dy-an-ny,"  spoke  of  being  "  raised," 
made  a  liberal  use  of  the  word  "  heap,"  as  an  adjective  of 
quantity  and,  in  general,  sharpened  our  a's  and  slurred  our 
'ings,  while  we  were  not  any  too  particular  about  blacking 
our  shoes  and  dusting  our  clothes — because  of  these  things  and 
other  similar  ones — many  of  the  people  whom  we  were  every 
day  defending  in  our  letters  to  our  friends  and  to  the  Western 
newspapers,  were  every  day  bandying  and  ridiculing  us  to  our 
faces,  and  son>e  of  them  were  lying  about  us  shamelessly  in 
their  letters  to  friends  and  to  Eastern  newspapers.  Of  course, 
mere  personal  jibes  and  twittings  counted  for  little,  but  insinu- 
ations and  assertions  affecting  our  manhood  and  soldierly 
qualities — the  very  points  upon  which  we  were  standing  up 
for  them — were  different. 

In  addition  to  these  things,  we  were  convinced  then  of  the 
rigorous  character,  relatively,  of  service  in  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  aside  from  its  bloody  battles  and  their  issues.  On 
top  of  the  crucial  test  of  all  patriotic  devotion  and  all  soldierly 
virtues,  put  upon  the  men  of  the  Eastern  armies,  by  their  num- 
erous uncalled-for  defeats,  and  their  repeated  buff"etings  and 
disappointments,  which  were  in  such  striking  disproportion 
to  what  they  had  a  right  to  expect ;  the  long-sustained  physi- 
cal efl"orts  they  were  required  to  make,  the  exposures  they  en- 
dured and  the  deprivations  they  suffered,  as  compared  with 
other  armies,  are  not  well  understood  in  some  quarters,  even 
to  the  present  day.  We  had  had  the  opptrtunity  to  learn 
something  of  them  before  this. 

Nevertheless,  if  the  question  had  been  left  to  a  vote  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  that  morning  whether  or  not  we  should 
now  leave  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  negative  would 
probably  have  won.  Anyway,  we  were  going  with  many 
sincere   regrets.      It   goes   without   saying   that    no    vote    was 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  439 

asked  for  or  taken.  We  were  ordered  to  go,  and  tliat  was  the 
end  of  it  with  us,  regardless  of  what  our  preferences  might  be. 
Seven  days  hence  we  would  be  in  Alabama.  A  few  incidents 
of  the  journey  doubtless  demand  a  place  in  this  volume. 

Men  in  other  regiments  seem  to  have  found  the  trip  a  dis- 
agreeable one.  The  Twenty-seventh  did  not  find  it  so.  True, 
we  rode  the  entire  distance  in  freight  cars,  and  were  some- 
what crowded,  the  floor  space  of  the  cars  alone  considered. 
But  we  were  permitted,  at  will,  to  ride  on  top  or  inside  of  the 
cars,  and,  in  that  way,  had  plenty  of  room.  At  night,  some 
using  the  benches  and  others  the  floor,  there  was  room  for 
all  to  lie  down,  and  sufficient  sleep  and  rest  were  thus  ob- 
tained every  night.  In  addition  to  what  was  given  us  along 
the  way  by  the  loyal  people,  and  the  rations  we  had  with  us, 
the  Government  had  provided  supplies  of  hot  coff"ee  and  some 
cooked  food  at  all  of  the  points  where  the  trains  were  to  stop. 
It  was  easy  to  do  this,  as  other  soldiers  were  stationed  at  those 
points,  and  they  attended  to  it.  The  weather  was  most  de- 
lightful, being  the  Indian  Summer  of  the  various  sections 
passed  through. 

The  route  taken  on  this  transfer  was,  first  by  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railroad  via  Relay  Junction,  Harpers  Ferry, 
Cumberland  and  Romney,  to  Bentwood,  on  the  Ohio  river. 
There  we  left  the  cars,  boarded  at  Bealton,  and  marcht^d  a  ross 
the  river  on  a  bridge,  formed  of  freight  barges,  into  Bellaire, 
Ohio.  Thence  we  passed  through  Zanesville,  Columbus  and 
Da3'ton,  Ohio  ;  Richmond,  Indianapolis  and  Jeflersonville, 
Indiana ;  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  Nashville  and  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tennessee,  to  Stevenson,  Alabama.  Adjutant  Bryant 
gives  the  exact  distance  as  1,19G  miles.  It  would  be  a  long, 
interesting  journey  at  any  time,  affording  a  look  at  far-famed 
scenery,  rich  agricultural  districts  and  populous  cities. 

The  energy,  foresight  and  attention  to  minor  details,  par- 
ticularly the  anticipation  of  and  provision  for  the  wants  of  the 
soldiers,  evident  all  along  the  way,  had  a  good  effect.  We 
were  impressed  every  hour  that  back  somewhere  there  was  a 
head  and  a  heart  to  plan  right  things  for  us,  and  a  will  to  exe- 
cute. A  traveler  making  a  journey  across  the  continent  now, 
on  a  first-class  ticket,  would  not  find  his  connections  better 
arranged  for,  and  his  comforts,  if  more  expensive  and  luxuri- 
ous, would  not  be  more  carefully  looked  after.  It  was  also  a 
joy  and  an  inspiration,  which  will  linger  with    us    to   the  end 


440  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  life,  to  receive,  not  only  the  food  and  delicacies,  but  the 
warm-hearted  expressions  of  syinpathy  and  encouragement, 
which  came  to  us  at  every  stopping  place  in  Ohio  and  In- 
diana. The  beaming  eyes,  winsome  smiles  and  brave  cheering 
words,  no  less  than  the  kindly  deeds,  of  the  loyal  women  and 
girls,  not  only  rewarded  us  for  what  we  had  done,  but  made 
better  soldiers  of  us  in  the  time  to  come. 

The  celebrated  Brough  and  Vallandingham  campaign  was 
then  in  progress  in  Ohio.  It  lacked  but  a  few  days  of  the 
election  when  we  passed  through.  Many  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  possibly  a  majority  of  them,  had,  previous  to  the 
war,  been  members  of  the  same  party  as  Vallandingham.  But 
we  were  all  on  the  other  side  now.  None  of  us  could  brook 
the  idea  of  a  man  who  had  been  convicted  of  being  in  secret 
alliance  with  armed  rebellion,  being  voted  for  governor  of  the 
great,  loyal  state  of  of  Ohio,  much   less   elected  to  that  ofKce. 

The  first  run  that  the  train  made,  after  starting  across  the 
state,  the  boys  found  themselves  at  a  disadvantage.  At  times 
when  the  train  was  moving  too  fast  too  alight  from  it,  yet  not 
fast  enough  to  prevent  our  hearing  them,  men  would  tantalize 
us  by  shouting  for  Vallandingham,  and  frequently  for  JeflF 
Davis.  We  had  our  guns,  of  course,  but  shooting  under  the 
circumstances  was  a  more  radical  measure  than  seemed  advis- 
able. At  the  first  stop,  however,  the  boys  prepared  them- 
selves. They  filled  their  haversacks  with  a  plentiful  supply 
of  David's  favorite  weapons,  namely,  ''  Smoothe  stones  from 
the  brook."  It  was  most  amusing  to  witness  the  result  when 
the  next  group  of  men,  thinking  to  take  advantage  of  the  fact 
that  we  were  on  a  moving  train,  began  to  shout  their  taunting 
hurrah's.  How  they  did  dodge  and  scamper,  when  it  began 
to  rain  good-sized  stones  in  their  midst!  The  same  method 
was  pursued,  with  the  same  laughable  and  gratifying  results, 
until  we  finally  passed  out  of  Ohio. 

The  Twentv-seventh  was  showMi  some  special  consideration 
on  the  journey  by  General  Slocum,and  perhaps  others.  When 
the  move  was  inaugurated  the  paymaster  was  making  on  ■  of  his 
periodical  visits  to  the  corps,  but  had  not  yet  reached  the  Twen- 
ty-seventh. About  the  time  we  first  crossed  the  Ohio,  General 
vSlocum  chanced  to  come  around  where  the  Twenty-seventh 
was.  In  response  to  our  cheers  he  complimented  the  regi- 
ment on  its  orderlv  behavior  and  enquired  "  How  are  the 
Twenty-seventh     boys    standing    the     trip?"       Among     the 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  441 

many  replies  he  received,  some  one,  not  backward  about 
expressing  his  sentiments,  shouted,  "  We  would  feel  better 
about  passing  through  Indiana,  if  we  had  some  money." 
"  Haven't  you  been  paid  off?"  the  General  enquired,  with 
evident  surprise  and  interest.  "  No,  No!"  the  men  replied. 
"  Well  now,"  he  continued,  "  I  will  see  to  that."  And  he  did- 
That  evening  beyond  Zanesville,  our  train  ran  in  on  a  country 
siding,  while  an  express  train  dashed  by.  A  note  was  dropped 
from  the  express,  for  our  colonel,  informing  him  that  the  pay- 
master was  aboard  and  would  begin  paying  us  at  Zanesville. 
When  we  arrived  there,  we  found  him  waiting  for  us,  and  all 
through  the  night,  by  the  dim  light  of  our  candies,  he  went  from 
car  to  car,  until  he  had  given    the   last   man  two  months'  pay. 

We  also  gave  General  Slocum  credit  for  arranging  it  that 
the  Twenty-seventh  should  remain  at  Indianapolis  all  of  one 
day.  The  troops  changedcars  at  Indianapolis, but  most  of  them 
only  remained  there  a  short  time.  We  arrived  in  the  early 
morning  and  were  told  then  that  we  would  not  likely  go  out 
before  night.  Inasmuch  as  many  of  the  parents,  wives, 
children  and  other  relatives  and  close  ft  iends  of  the  members 
of  the  regiment  had  been  notified  by  personal  telegrams  of 
our  coming,  and  had  purposely  met  us  there,  this  arrangement 
was  a  great  kindness. 

The  General's  hint  to  one  of  our  Twenty -seventh  boys, 
at  Indianapolis,  was  also  characteristic  of  the  man.  This 
Twenty-seventh  soldier  chanced  to  see  the  General  at  a  time 
when  he  seemed  to  be  at  leisure,  so  he  made  bold  to  speak 
to  him  of  what  was  uppermost  in  his  mind.  He  told  him  that 
we  were  to  pass  through  his  own,  home  town,  that  he  had 
not  been  at  home,  nor  absent  from  the  regiment  a  single  day, 
since  enlistin^'^,  now  more  than  two  years,  and  asked  the 
General  if  he  might  not  stop  and  see  his  people  for  one  day. 
General  Slocum  could  command  50,000  soldiers  like  a  skilled 
chess  player  can  manage  his  pieces  upon  the  board.  Here  we 
see  one  of  the  secrets  of  it.  With  much  sympathy  he  replied, 
in  substance,  "  Soldier,  I  am  very  sorry,  but  I  cannot  give 
you  a  furlough;  no  one  except  the  secretary  of  war,  or  some 
one  acting  by  his  authority,  can  do  that.  Still,  if  I  had 
served  in  the  regiment  that  you  have,  for  over  two  years, 
without  being  at  home  once,  or  absent  from  duty  a  single  day, 
and  was  passing  directly  through  my  own  home  town,  I 
would  most  certainly  stop  for  just   a  little  while,  on  my   own 


442  HISTORY    OF    THE 

responsibility.  And  I  will  say  this  much  :  If  you  conclude 
to  do  the  same,  and  should  get  into  trouble  over  it,  I  will  do 
all   I  can  to  help  you  out." 

Though  anticipating  somewhat,  it  may  be  stated  in  this 
connection  that  officers  were  detailed  by  the  General's  orders 
and  left  at  Louisville,  where  stragglers  would  first  encounter 
military  rule  and  where  those  without  passes  or  furloughs 
would  be  taken  into  custody.  These  officers  were  armed  with 
full  power  to  take  charge  of  all  late  comers  of  the  Twelfth 
Corps  and  bring  them  on  to  the  front.  This  made  it  easy  for 
those  who  stopped  off  at  home  to  overtake  us  without  serious 
detention.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  also  that  all  such  were 
sent  to  the  regiment  at  once,  when  they  reached  the  corps, 
and  nothing   farther  was  said  about  it. 

But  only  a  limited  number  could  stop  off,  even  for  a  short 
time.  The  regimental  organization,  and  that  of  each  company, 
had  to  be  maintained,  and  the  property  and  equipments  which 
we  had  with  us  had  to  be  cared  for.  It  called,  therefore,  for 
heroic  self-denial  on  the  part  of  some.  JNIost  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  passed  within  an  hour's  ride  of  their  homes,  and  many 
of  them  within  actual  sight.  The  writer  sat  in  the  open  door 
of  the  freight  car,  by  the  side  of  a  comrade  when  the  train 
passed  his  father's  house,  which  stood  within  a  stone's  throw 
of  the  track.  With  all  that  we  had  been  called  upon  to  do 
and  to  witness,  and  with  what,  in  all  probability  was  yet  to 
come,  the  impulse  to  stop  was  very  strong,  if  onl}^  for  the 
next  train. 

In  this  the  unselfishness  and  true  comradeship  of  the  boys 
were  again  exemplified.  Men  of  families,  or  whose  parents 
were  known  to  be  quite  old,  or  in  feeble  health,  and  those 
who,  for  any  reason,  had  special  occasion  to  go  home,  were 
urged  to  do  so.  While  the  unmarried,  and  those  not  having 
any  special  call  to  stop  off,  generously  offered  to  remain  and 
do  double  duty.  The  recollection  conies  up  unbidden  that 
much  of  this  had  a  sequel.  Several  of  those  who  then  saw 
home  and  friends,  partly  through  the  kindness  and  encourage- 
ment of  officers  and  comrades,  never  saw  them  again  ;  while 
some  who  then  voluntarily  denied  themselves  the  opportunit}^ 
for  the  sake  of  others,  never  had  the  opportunity  recur. 
When  these  crossed  the  Ohio  river  they  were  never  to  recross 
it  in  the  body. 

The  train  conveying  the    Twenty-seventh    left   Indianap- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  443 

olis  early  in  the  evening  and  arrived  at  Jeffersonville  in  the 
forenoon  of  the  next  day.  There  we  left  the  cars  again  and 
were  taken  over  the  river  on  a  ferry  boat. 

In  Kentucky  things  began  to  have  a  familiar  look.  War 
in  one  locality  is  much  the  same  as  in  another.  There  were 
more  houses  and  less  naked  chimneys,  more  fences  and  grow- 
ing crops,  and  not  so  many  open  spaces  and  barren  fields, 
through  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  than  through  Virginia. 
But  the  same  ubiquitous  blue  uniforms,  the  same  mystical 
and  potent  "U.  S.,"  painted  or  stenciled  upon  almost  every- 
thing movable,  and  some  things  that  were  not,  the  same 
earthworks  and  blockhouses  at  the  bridges  and  culverts,  etc., 
etc.,   were  in  evidence. 

When  we  first  began  to  come  in  contact  with  the  soldiers 
of  the  Western  armies  our  faith  was  shaken  still  more  as  to 
the  desirability  of  the  change  we  were  making.  In  the  cities 
in  rear  of  those  armies  we  would  naturally  see  many  of  their 
sick  and  convalescents.  The  blackened,  fleshless  victims  of 
malarial  fevers  and  camp  diarrhoea  constituted  a  class  of  suf- 
ferers that  we  had  seen  nothing  of  before  this.  The  sight  of 
them  almost  appalled  us.  We  learned  later  that  these  cases 
had  come  mostly  from  the  armies  serving  along  the  Mississippi 
and  other  Western  rivers.  Those  scourges  had  not  prevailed 
extensively  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  were  almost 
unknown  in  it  after  it  reached  the  mountain  districts  of  Ten- 
nessee and  Georgia. 

The  ride  from  Louisville  to  Nashville  was  the  roughest 
and  most  disagreeable  of  any  part  of  our  long  journev.  This 
seemed  to  be  caused  largely  by  the  reckless  manner  in  which 
the  trains  were  run.  It  was  impossible,  a  good  part  of  the 
time  that  the  train  was  in  motion,  to  sit  or  lie  still,  much  less 
to  sleep. 

We  passed  through  Nashville  without  leaving  the  cars, 
though  it  required  the  best  part  of  a  day  to  switch  the  trains 
around  and  get  them  started  south  again.  The  speed  from 
Nashville  on  was  as  slow  in  proportion  as  it  had  been  fast 
this  side  of  that  point.  Almost  every  little  station  south  of 
Nashville  had  been  named  over  and  over  again  in  the  dis- 
patches relating  to  the  progress  of  the  war.  On  Sunday 
morning,  about  daylight,  October  4,  1868,  we  leaped  out  of 
the  cars  into  a  fog  so  thick  that  it  could  almost  be  cut  into 
chunks.      The  train  had  come  to  a  standstill,  and  there  seemed 


444  HISTORY    OF    THE 

to  be  a  number  of  switches,  or  sidings,  extending  along  the 
base  of  a  mountain  that  was  laigher  than  we  could  see  in  the 
fog.  Where  they  had  not  been  freshly  tramped  down,  rank 
weeds,  higher  than  our  heads,  were  to  be  seen  everywhere, 
growing  out  of  a  rich  alluvial  soil.  A  few  cheap,  wooden 
houses,  now  much  the  worse  for  neglect  and  abuse,  stood 
back  from  the  sidings.  Nearer  were  immense  piles  of  boxes 
and  barrels,  all  marked  "  U.  S."  When  enough  of  us  had 
gotten  off  to  begin  to  raise  some  commotion,  a  man  poked 
his  bare  head  out  of  a  tent  near  by,  to  see  what  was  the 
matter,  "  Where  are  we.?"  someone  of  us  inquired.  "  Ste- 
venson, Alabama,"  he  said,  gruffly,  and  drew  his  head  in 
again. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


TULLAHOMA. 

The  evidence  was  not  long  in  developing  that  the  troops 
had  been  brought  West  for  something  more  than  ornament. 
Less  than  two  hours  after  getting  off  the  cars  at  Stevenson 
we  were  getting  back  onto  others — open  flat  cars  this  time — 
and  were  destined  shortly  to  be  racing  hither  and  yon,  at  our 
old  calling  of  trying  to  head  ofl'  rebel  cavalry.  In  the  West 
it  was  Wheeler  and  Forrest  who  occupied  the  position  filled 
by  Stewart  and  others  in  the  East,  and  who  attended  indus- 
triously to  the  matter  of  riding  around  our  army,  burning 
railroad  bridges  and  destroying  other  property.  In  this  in- 
stance it  was  Wheeler.* 

The  utter  folly  and  uselessness  of  employing  infantry 
against  Cavalry  when  making  such  a  raid,  further  than  to  re- 
inforce certain  weak  points,  or  to  guard  important  isolated 
crossings,  has  been  mentioned  heretofore.  The  belated  pas- 
senger who,  arriving  after  the  train  has  gone,  starts  on  foot 
to  overtake  it,  is  only  jeered  at  by  onlookers.  Not  a  whit 
more  rational  is  a  commander,  who  sends  a  few  thousand 
infantry  to  prevent  a  body  of  mounted  men  from  crossing  a 
railroad  a  hundred  miles  long,  or  with  the  expectation  of 
striking  them  while  crossing,  when  they  can  go  over  it  equally 
as  well  at  one  point  as  another.  Whether  we  had  brought 
this  species  of  lunacy  with  us,  or  whether  it  was  indigenous 
in  the  West,  as  well  as  East,  "  deponent  answereth  not." 

The  cars  carried  us  back  over  the  same  route  we  had 
come,  first,  to  Dechard,  and  tlien — it  is  impossible  at  this 
date  to  determine  where.  The  different  regiments  of  the 
brigade  manifestly  did  not  remain  together,  though  this  the 
writer  has  found  nowhere  expressly  stated.  The  Twenty- 
seventh  had  a  large  detachment  on  '-French  leave,"  back  in 
Indiana  or  on  the  way  somewhere.  It  had  another  consider- 
able   detachment  with    the  regimental    baggage    and    stores, 


*The  same  "  F'ighting  Joe"  of  recent  history. 


446  HISTORY    OF    THE 

which  were  also  behind.  What  remained  of  the  regiment 
mav  have  been  further  subdivided  and  sent  to  different  points. 
Anyway,  diaries  tell  different  stories  with  reference  to  this 
period,  hard  to  reconcile.  The  writer  is  confident  that  he  came 
on  the  cars,  after  various  detentions,  as  far  north  as  a  burned 
bridge,  not  far  below  Murfreesboro.  He  is  equally  confident 
that  Colonel  Colgrove  was  in  command  of  this  part  of  the 
Twenty-seventh,  large  or  small. 

The  brigade,  or  most  of  it,  must  have  pulled  itself 
together  again  a  day  or  two  after  this  at  Christiana,  a  little 
further  south.  The  writer  can  not  be  mistaken  about  having 
had  charge  of  a  picket  reserve  there  much  larger  than  -was 
common  for  persons  of  his  rank,  and  in  it  were  details  from 
most,  if  not  all,  of  the  regiments.  There  was  much  blood- 
shed. A  drove  of  hogs  in  the  vicinity  suffered  terribly.  The 
impression  seemed  widely,  and  perhaps  violently,  prevalent 
that  regulations  with  respect  to  foraging  were  different  in 
Tennessee  from  what  they  had  been  in  Virginia.  The  only 
regulation  that  was  rigidly  enforced  by  the  one  in  command 
that  day  was,  "  Don't  let  me  sec  you  kill  any  hogs,  or  sec  any 
confiscated  propert}^." 

After  a  short  stay  about  Christiana,  the  line  of  march  was 
gradually  southward.  With  various  halts  and  possibly  some 
counter-marches  we  arrived  at  Tullahoma  on  the  11th.  Most 
of  the  time  on  these  marches  we  had  been  in  a  good  country, 
naturally.  Our  bivouacks  and  periods  of  rest  had  often  been 
in  fine  beech,  poplar  and  walnut  groves.  Near  the  village  of 
Bellbuckle  we  camped  for  a  time  am'ong  some  of  the  largest, 
finest  yellow  poplars  that  the  writer  has  ever  seen  outside  of 
Indiana.  The  ground  in  many  places  was  also  thickly  strewn 
with  beech  and  hickory  nuts. 

Since  arriving  from  the  East  we  had  for  the  first  time 
come  into  contact  with  colored  troops.  There  had  been  much 
heated  discussion  over  the  matter  of  arming  the  late  slaves. 
Direful  things  were  threatened  by  the  Southern  authorities  if 
it  was  done,  some  of  which  were  carried  into  effect  later. 
At  the  North  few  opposed  it,  or  questioned  its  propriety, 
except  those  whose  loyalty  was  not  above  suspicion.  An 
admirable  expression  of  the  sentiment  of  the  army  upon  the 
subject  was  made  by  a  soldier  of  the  writer's  acquaintance, 
belonging  to  another  regiment.  He  was  asked  in  a  scornful 
tone,  when  at  home  wounded,  whether  he  wanted  "  a  nigger 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  447 

to  stand  aside  of  him  in  battle.''  He  promptly  replied,  "No! 
I  want  the  nigger  to  stand  in  front  of  me."  So  it  was  often 
said  by  the  soldiers  in  the  field,  if  a  negro  could  stop  a  rebel 
bullet,  or,  better  still,  if  he  could  stop  the  rebel  from  shooting 
the  bullet,  let  him  come  on.  It  was  a  little  hard  on  those 
white  regiments  that  had  been  guarding  bridges,  and  doing 
other  duty  in  the  rear,  to  be  relieved  by  colored  soldiers  and 
sent  to  the  front,  but  the  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh  had 
no  occasion  to  find  fault  with  that. 

The  colored  troops  which  we  saw  at  this  time  impressed 
us  with  the  exactness  with  which  they  executed  their  orders. 
A  colored  soldier  on  guard  controlled  all  the  country  in  sight 
of  him,  and  he  knew  no  such  thing  as  rank.  That  some  of 
our  officers  were  called  to  a  halt  and  marched  off  to  the  officer  of 
the  day  because  they  inadvertently  strayed  too  near  the  colored 
guard  line,  afforded  us  more  than  one  good  laugh  at  their 
expense. 

During  the  last  day  before  reaching  Tullahoma  we  crossed 
another  creek  "  endways."  The  number  of  times  we  waded 
the  one  creek,  or  as  Chaplain  Quint  says,  "  walked  through 
it,"  would  probably  seem  incredible  if  stated  in  these  piping 
times  of  peace. 

Chaplain  Qiiint  also  makes  some  witty  observations  in 
this  connection  about  the  leader  of  a  column  of  marching  men 
being  required  to  walk  and  carry  a  load.  The  horses  for  our 
mounted  officers  had  not  yet  overtaken  us  and  some  of  them 
could  make  no  other  terms  with  fate  on  this  march  than  to 
"foot  it,"  like  the  balance  of  us.  The  Chaplain  was  among 
this  number  and,  in  his  meditations  while  trudging  along,  he 
came  first,  to  the  conclusion  that  the  one  who  has  charge  of 
men  marching  on  foot  ought  always  to  be  required  himself  to 
go  in  the  same  way.  Later,  he  decided  that  he  not  only  ought 
to  be  required  to  walk,  but  also  to  carry  a  load,  and  the  further 
the  Chaplain  went  the  heavier  the  load  he  was  disposed  to  lay 
on  the  leader.  Others  had  worked  out  the  same  conclusions, 
earlier  in  the  war,  though  perhaps  not  able  to  state  them  in 
quite  such  attractive  English, 

While  at  Tullahoma  this  time  we  camped  upon  the  bluff 
at  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  town,  really  in  the  town. 
The  first  days  after  our  arrrival  there  were  devoted  to  a  very 
wet  rain.  When  the  rain  finally  ceased  we  ventured  out  of 
our  tents,  stretched  our  limbs,  and  began  to  take  our  bearings. 


448  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Matters  in  Tennessee  were  quite  different  from  what  they 
had  been  in  Virginia,  in  many  respects.  The  general  aspect 
of  things  was  not  so  different  from  Indiana.  Neither  were 
the  people  all  disloyal,  and  there  was  not  such  an  evident 
tone  of  hostility  everywhere.  A  Union  soldier  could  feel 
somewhat  at  home.  Q^uite  a  proportion  of  the  citizens  he 
met  were  in  full  sympathy  with  him.  And,  while  the  signs 
of  war  were  evident  on  every  hand,  the  country  had  not 
been  laid  waste  as  it  had  been  where  we  had  mostly  served. 
Fresh  meat  and  vegetables  were  as  cheap  in  Tullahoma  as 
they  have  been  in  the  average  Northern  town  since  the  war. 
No  soldier  with  any  money  at  all  would  forage  sweet  pota- 
toes ;  he  could  buy  them  for  less  than  he  considered  it  worth 
to  dig  them.     On  the  whole  we  rather  like-1  the  prospect. 

Just  at  this  time  an  army  incident  transpired  that  carried 
us  all  entirely  away.  A  number  of  officers  and  soldiers 
assembled  at  the  station  one  day  with  the  band,  to  see  and 
greet  one  whom  they  had  learned  incidentally  was  to  pass 
through  on  the  cars.  We  had  all  known  of  him,  but  no  one 
of  us  had  ever  seen  him.  When  the  train  arrived  he  stepped 
out  on  the  rear  platform.  He  was  then  a  major-general  and 
held  the  highest  command  of  any  one  in  the  United  States 
army — the  reward  of  his  previous  successes.  Yet  he  wore  a 
faded  coat,  the  buttons  of  which  indicated  the  rank  of  briga- 
dier-general, and  in  his  demeanor  he  was  as  bashful  and 
modest  as  a  school  boy.  What  he  said  could  not  be  heard  a  rod 
away.     No  need  to  say  that  this  was  General  Grant. 

The  sight  of  this  plain,  unassuming  Western  man,  with 
his  Western  ways,  brought  our  hearts  right  up  into  our  throats. 
We  cheered  with  a  wild  abandon.  Bless  God!  the  days  of  our 
serfdom  were  over.  At  last  we  were  under  men  who  could 
think  of  something  besides  brass  buttons,  tinsel  and  gilt  lace. 
There  were  to  be  other  standards  of  excellence  than  parades 
and  reviews. 

A  little  later  the  following  entries  were  made  in  the  diary 
of  a  Twenty-seventh  soldier  :  October  23,  to  Dechard  ;  Octo- 
ber 24,  to  Anderson  ;  October  25,  to  Dechard  ;  October  26,  to 
Tullahoma.  Brief,  but  true.  With  more  detail,  these  entries 
mean  that,  under  orders,  which  had  every  appearance  of  being 
serious,  we  started  to  the  front.  We  carried  ten  days'  rations 
of  bread,  five  of  meat  and  an  extra  supply  of  ammunition. 
The  first  day  we   marched   to   Dechard,  over  a  good  road  and 


TWENTY-SE  VENTJI    INDIA  N  A  , 


440 


through  a  level  country — an  easy  march  of  fifteen  mile^.  The 
next  day  we  toiled  up  the  rocky  side  of  the  main  chain  of  the 
Cumberland  Mountains  and  descended  again  on  the  opposite 
side.  We  went  over  the  mountain  exactly  where  the  rail- 
road goes  partly  under  it.  There  had  been  little  or  no  road 
there  before.  The  only  time  it  had  ever  been  used,  we  were 
told,  was  while  the  railroad  was  being  built.  \\Mth  infinite 
labor  we  pulled  the  artillery  and  baggage  wagons  up  by  hand 
on  one  side   and   eased    them    down   again  on    the  other.      In 


Gen.  U.  S.  Grant. 

(From  war  time  photograph.) 

places  ledges  of  rock  rose  from  one  to   three  feet,  almost   per- 

pendicuhir,  and    in    others  the    wheels   cut   down   in  the  soft. 

black  soil  squarely  to  the    hubs.      That    night    we   camped   at 

Anderson's  depot. 

After   crossing  the  mountain    the  road  follows  down  the 

Crow    Creek    Valley,  a   very   wild    and    picturesque    locality, 

hemmed  in  bv  liigli  mountains.     Near  where  we  camped  was 

a  spring  large  enough  to  run  a  mill.      It    issued  from  a  cavern 

in  the  side  of  th  •   mountain    into    which    a    man    could    walk 

almost  uprii.>ht.      lieech  nuts  were  again  plentiful. 
29 


450  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Next  morning  there  was  a  delay  in  starting.  When  the 
start  was  made  we  took  the  back  track  ;  and  the  march  that 
day  and  the  following  one  were  the  exact  counterparts  of  the 
two  previous  days,  except  that  the  direction  was  reversed. 
The  fourth  night  found  us  back  at  Tullahoma,  upon  the  pre- 
cise spot  from  which  we  had  started.  Several  thousand  men 
had  just  had  a  nice  promenade,  of  some  seventy  miles,  for 
their  health. 

The  explanation  of  this  transaction,  current  at  the  time, 
was  to  the  effect  that  an  order  was  issued  for  our  division  to 
go  to  the  front  and  the  vSecond  Division  to  remain  in  the 
rear.  But  General  Geary,  the  commander  of  the  Second 
Division,  objected.  He  was  a  large  man,  with  a  rugged,  if 
not  violent,  disposition.  When  he  learned  of  the  arrange- 
ment he  went  to  the  higher  authorities  and  made  a  disturb- 
ance. He  complained  that  the  First  Division  had  too  often 
been  preferred  over  his.  It  had  been  given  all  chances  to  dis- 
tinguish itself,  while  his  division  had  been  kept  in  the  back- 
ground. Whether  this  report  was  true  or  not,  our  division 
was  ordered  back  and  the  other  division  went  forward. 
Williams'  division  guarded  the  railroad  and  Geary's  division 
participated  in  "•  the  Battle  Above  the  Clouds."  In  the  absence 
of  any  other,  this  explanation  is  given  for  what  it  is  worth. 

It  proved  that  the  Twenty-seventh  was  now  to  settle 
down  to  a  life  of  garrison  and  guard  duty,  lasting  over  five 
months.  The  experience  was  new  and  opened  to  us  another 
phase  of  army  life.  The  other  regiments  of  the  brigade  and 
division  were  sent  to  other  points,  where  we  saw  little  or 
nothing  of  them.  One  company  of  the  Twenty-seventh  was 
sent  to  Poor  ]Man's  Run,  two  miles  below  Tullahoma,  to 
guard  the  bridge  at  that  point. 

The  seniority  of  Colonel  Colgrove  was  probably  why  the 
Twenty-seventh  was  retained  at  Tullahoma.  It  was  undoubt- 
edly the  post  of  honor,  being  the  headquarters  of  the  corps, 
divisions  and  brigade,  and  on  other  accounts,  the  center  of 
interest  for  that  district  of  country.  We  had  with  us  one  live 
major-general  and  two  live  brigadiers.  Tullahoma  was  also  a 
military  ,'  post,"  with  a  post  commander,  post  provost-mar- 
shall,  post  quartermaster,  etc.  In  a  large  hotel  building  near 
the  depot  was  a  regularly  equipped  general  hospital  and  near 
the  town,  on  the  northeast,  was  a  regularly  constructed  fort, 
mounting  some   heavy  guns,   and   garrisoned  by  a  Kentucky 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  451 

artillery  company.     Colonel  Colgrove  was    Post   Commander 
and  Captain  Williams  was  Post  Provost-marshal. 

Before  the  war,  Tullahoma  had  been  a  prosperous  town 
of  a  thousand  inhabitants.  It  has  an  unusually  high  altitude, 
making  it  a  cool,  healthful  place,  and  it  was,  and  is  still,  a 
summer  resort  of  considerable  note.  It  had  been  greatly  dis- 
tressed by  the  war.  The  rebel  army  had  been  there  the  pre- 
vious winter  and  it  was  now  a  stopping  place  for  many  of  our 
troops.  The  best  that  could  be  done,  one  building  after  another 
was  burned  or  torn  down.  Not  over  three  hundred  people 
were  in  the  town  at  this  time. 

The  second  day  after  our  return  to  Tullahoma  our  camp 
was  moved  to  a  point  between  the  railroad  and  the  fort.  There 
we  at  once  prepared  such  quarters  as  would  enable  us  to  pass 
the  winter  with  some  comfort,  though  the  materials  were  not 
available  to  do  as  well  as  we  had  formerly  done.  These  quar- 
ters we  occupied  until  vSpring. 

The  following  headlines  from  a  diary,  kept  by  a  member 
of  the  Twenty-seventh,  will  recall  to  any  survivor  of  the  regi- 
ment some  of  the  most  prominent  features  of  that  winter's 
experience.  On  picket  and  patrolling  the  railroad.  Out  with 
forage  train.  Parties  and  dances  in  town,  ditto,  ditto  in  the 
country.  Veteranizing.  Guerrillas  capture  foragers.  Cold 
New  Years.  Guerrillas  wreck  railroad  trains.  General  Slo- 
cum  going  away.  Veterans  start  home  at  midnight.  Hunt- 
ing rabbits  and  turkeys.  Veterans  arrive  from  Nashville. 
Many  other  veterans  march  through.  Hovey's  babies  to  the 
front. 

The  exactions  of  picket  duty  at  Tullahoma  were  very 
severe.  To  maintain  an  unbroken  line  of  pickets  around  the 
place  was  impracticable  ;  but  several  posts,  with  good  reserves, 
were  established  out  on  all  the  roads  and  other  probable  en- 
trances. There  was  considerable  tine  weather,  of  course,  but 
some  of  it  was  as  venomous  as  anybody  ever  saw.  That 
winter  averaged  colder  than  either  of  the  others  we  spent  in 
the  army.  No  record  of  the  temperature  at  Tullahoma  has 
turned  up,  but  a  statement  that  the  thermometer  stood  at  four 
degrees  below  zero,  on  the  morning  of  January  2d,  1804,  at 
Bridgeport,  Alabama,  seems  authentic.  To  go  on  picket 
every  other  night,  out  under  the  open  sky,  through  an  entire 
winter,   is   an    irksome,  slavish,  health-destroying   life.      That 


452  HISTORY    OF    THE 

was  what  most  of  the  Twentv-seventli  did  there,  regardless  of 
rank. 

Yet  clouds  had  silver  lining  then,  as  they  are  believed  to 
have  always.  Wherever  a  survivor  of  the  Twenty-seventli 
can  be  found,  at  the  present  time,  the  chances  are  that  he  will 
recall  the  winter  at  Tullahoma  with  a  smile.  The  matter  of 
parties  in  town  and  country,  hinted  at  in  the  above  quotation, 
will  likely  have  something  to  do  with  the  smile.  In  and 
around  the  village  there  seemed  to  be  even  more  than  the 
usual  nmnber  of  young  ladies.  Alany  of  them  belonged  to 
Union  families,  some  having  brothers  or  fathers  in  the  Union 
army.  Only  a  short  time  sufficed  for  most  members  of  the 
regiment  to  be  on  at  least  calling  terms  with  some  of  these. 
Few  indeed  were  the  men  who  did  not  spend  more  or  less 
time  in  their  society.  No  one  was  the  worse  for  it  either, 
unless  it  was  through  some  fault  of  his  own.  The  writer  can 
testify,  being  in  a  position  later  on,  where  he  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  learn  more  of  the  facts,  that  the  untraveled,  unpre- 
tentious people  of  Tullahoma.  young  and  old,  were  worthy  of 
more  sincere  consideration  and  esteem  than  they  received  in 
all  cases.  Their  motive  largely  was  to  lessen  the  hardships  and 
deprivations  of  soldiers  for  the  tlag.  At  least  two  of  our 
Twenty-seventh  boys  were  married  at  Tullahoma,  and 
brought  their  wives  with  them  to  Indiana,  when  on  veteran 
furlough. 

That  the  usual  amount  of  rough-and-tumble  sport,  pranks, 
games  and  various  pastimes,  were  kept  up  tliis  winter, 
doubtless  might  be  taken  for  granted.  The  trick  of  throwing 
men  up  in  a  blanket  had  a  greater  run  here  than  ever  before. 
Whenever  several  persons  wanted  to  show  some  one  a  little 
special  attention,  particularly  if  thev  wanted  to  visit  upon  liim 
a  mild  punishment  for  real  or  fancied  misdoing.  the\"  invari- 
ably seized  him  and  tossed  him  up  in  a  blanket  a  few  times. 
In  many  messes  this  was  the  standing  penaltv  for  the  vio- 
lation of  a  mess  rule,  or  any  little  transgression  or  failure.  If 
one  did  not  see  to  getting  water  or  wood,  when  it  was  his 
turn,  was  not  prompt  in  coming  to  his  meals,  permitted  his 
traps  to  lay  around  in  the  way,  above  all,  if  he  was  grumpy 
and  cross,  he  was  sure  to  find  himself  sailing  in  the  air,  imder 
the  uplifting  force  of  a  strong  blanket  or  tar[niulin,  in  tiie 
kindly  but  determined  hands  of  his  messmates.  Even  com- 
missioned officers  were  not  all  exempt.      No  one   would    have 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


45;-3 


thought  of  subjecting  some  of  them  to  such  an  ordeal  ;  but  in 
some  instances  officers  stepped  so  far  aside  themselves,  that 
they  were  almost  obliged  to  take  their  turn  at  this  exercise, 
like  little  men,  or  do  worse. 

The  Twenty-seventh  had  more  enjoyment  of  tlie  brigade 
band  this  winter,  and  saw  more  of  its  members,  than  had 
been  the  case  previously.  This  band  had  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Second  Massachusetts  and  for  that  reason,  likely,  it 
commonly  remained  close  to  the  Second.  What  music  the 
Twenty-seventh  received  was  at  second  hand.  This  winter 
the  bund  w-i^^  at  Tulluhoma  most  of  tlie  time. 


"Blanket  Exercise."    ' 
(Plate  kindly  loaned  by  Chaplain  IJicdcrwulf,  161st  Ind.) 

It  must  have  been  a  very  superior  one,  really  an  aggrega- 
tion of  artists.  General  Sherman  and  General  Howard,  as 
well  as  thousands  of  other  soldiers,  have  testified  to  the 
pectiliar  impressions  made  upon  them  by  the  music  of  this  band. 

Almost  every  evening  during  the  winter  at  TuUahoma, 
when  the  weather  would  at  all  do,  the  band  gave  concerts, 
frequently  until  late  at  night.  The  writer  recalls  very  dis- 
tinctly the  delightful  impressions  that  these  serenades  made; 
upon  him.      Many  times  he  was  awakened  out  of  his  sleep  by 


454  HISTORY    OF    TflE 

the  inspiring  strains  of  '*  Rally  Round  the  Flag,  Boys,''  and 
other  patriotic  pieces.  One  of  the  favorites  of  this  band,  of 
a  different  character,  was  "  Old  Gray  Horse,  Get  Out  of  the 
Wilderness." 

This  was  the  winter,  of  course,  when  the  question  of 
re-enlistment  for  another  three  years,  or  during  the  war,  had 
to  be  acted  upon.  Desirous  of  securing  the  further  services 
of  those  trained,  disciplined  soldiers  whose  terms  of  enlistment 
would  expire  during  the  following  Summer,  Congress  passed 
a  law  oflfering  an  installment  bounty  of  $400,  a  furlough 
of  thirty  days,  and  what  has  proved  to  be  the  empty  honor 
of  being  called  a  veteran,  to  all  soldiers  who  had  alreadv 
served  two  years  or  more,  and  would  now  re-enlist  for  another 
three  years.  The  matter  was  not  pushed  with  much  energy 
in  the  Twenty-seventh.  The  officers  seemed  to  be  rather  con- 
servative about  it  themselves.  There  was  no  enthusiasm  over 
it  in  any  quarter.  What  might  have  been  the  result  if  fuller 
explanations  had  been  made,  or  additional  effort  put  forth, 
can  not  now  be  told.  As  it  was,  less  than  half  of  the  regiment 
re-enlisted,  not  enough  to  entitle  it  to  be  called  a  veteran 
regiment.  Those  who  thoughtfully  decided  to  re-enlist  un- 
questionably acted  a  prudent  part.  It  seemed  to  some  that 
there  were  substantial  reasons  why  they  ought  not  to  do 
so.  Of  those  who  did  not  re-enlist,  the  writer  does  not  know 
of  a  single  one  who  did  not  show  bv  his  conduct  after  coming 
home,  that  he  had  some  plan  of  life  previouslv  studied  out. 
and  something  that  was  creditable  to  him. 

The  veterans  seem  to  have  had  a  glorious  visit  to  Indiana. 
They  were  permitted  to  come  as  an  organized  regiment, 
bringing  the  colors,  musicians  and  a  full  complement  of  offi- 
cers with  them.  They  were  formally  welcomed  back  to  the 
State  by  Governor  Morton,  in  a  highly  eulogistic  speech. 
Everywhere  thev  went  they  were  met  with  wild  demonstra- 
tions of  honor  and  cordiality,  by  all  the  people.  The  entire 
thirty  days  was  one  continuous  round  of  gaiety,  of  dinners, 
receptions  and  parties,  given  in  their  behalf.  The  blessed 
Iloosier  women  and  girls,  in  particular,  left  no  room  for  doubt 
that  Virtue  hortors  Courage.  With  glowing  eyes  and  sweetest 
smiles,  they  gave  their  heartiest  approval  and  encouragement. 
A  number  of  the  boys  closed  the  bargain  with  the  girls  they 
had  left  behind  at  first,  and  had  corresponded  with  for  over 
two  years,  and  were  happily  married. 


TWENTV-SEVENTII    INDIANA.  455 

At  the  expiration  of  the  thirty  days  the  men  reassembled 
at  Indianapolis  and  returned  to  the  field  in  the  best  of  spirits. 
They  shared  the  fate  of  almost  all  returning  veterans  at  this 
period  and  had  to  march  from  Nashville  to  Tullahoma.  The 
trains  from  Nashville  south  were  so  heavily  taxed  in  accumu- 
lating stores  at  the  front  that  transportation  could  be  furnished 
to  very  few  soldiers,  going  in  that  direction. 

The  only  hostilities  from  the  enemy  at  Tullahoma  were 
from  guerrillas.  These  at  times  were  bold,  as  well  as  treacher- 
ous, and  were  considerable  of  an  annoyance. 

As  previously  noted,  the  people  in  the  town  and  im- 
mediately around  it,  particularly  to  the  east  and  north,  were 
quite  generally  loyal.  At  least,  there  were  enough  in  those 
sections  who  were  loyal  to  make  it  too  hazardous  for  bush- 
whackers. But  not  far  south,  and  southwest,  was  a  section 
of  country  where  the  rebel  sentiment  was  rampant.  Lincoln 
and  Franklin  counties,  situated  in  that  direction,  had  early 
been  hot  beds  of  secession.  When  the  majority  of  the  people 
of  Tennessee  voted  to  remain  in  the  Union,  as  they  did  at 
the  only  election  ever  held  over  the  question  having  any  pre- 
tense of  fairness  about  it,  these  two  counties  called  conven- 
tions and  passed  ordinances  of  secession,  withdrawing  from 
Tennessee  and  asking  admission  to  the  state  of  Alabama. 

That  fact,  by  the  way,  has  helped  the  writer  to  under- 
stand the  doctrine,  and  practical  operations,  of  secession.  It 
stands  to  him  as  a  demonstration  of  what  would  have  been 
the  rule,  if  the  rebellious  states  had  succeeded.  Any  state, 
county,  township  or  school  district,  dissatisfied,  from  any 
cause,  with  its  relations,  could  then  have  dissolved  them  at 
will.  Ambitious  politicians,  and  unscrupulous  schemers  of 
every  kind  , could  have  resorted  to  these  measures  at  any  time 
to  further  their  ends.  That  meant  anarchy.  The  shooting 
to  death  in  the  Civil  war  of  the  hot-headed,  unreasonable  and 
unreasoning  monster — Secession — was  a  long  step  in  the 
direction  of  stable,  law-abiding  government. 

The  people  in  the  above  direction  from  Tullahoma  encour- 
aged guerrilla  warfare  and  bushwhacking,  harboring  and  assist- 
ing in  hiding  those  engaged  in  it.  It  was  surprising,  as  well  as 
shocking,  that  people  of  the  highest  standing,  both  morally 
and  religiouslv,  or  who  had  been  such,  did  this.  The  writer 
personally  knew  of  instances  of  white-haired,  tottering  men 
and  women,  who  for  forty  years  had   maintained  active   rela- 


456 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


titins  with  Christian  churches,  yet  who  when  asked  if  they 
had  seen  certain  persons  lately  would  say  No,  and  call  upon 
God  to  strike  them  dead  if  they  were  not  telling  the  truth. 
Yet  the  one  asking  the  question  had  seen  the  persons  inquired 
after  go  out  of  their  presence  barely  a  moment  before.  In- 
stances of  this  kind  were  repeated  over  and  over.  That  was 
the  spirit  of  the  rebellion.  Some  phases  of  the  war  to  which 
this  narrative  relates  do  not  really  belong  to  the  sphere  of 
political  or  governmental  science,  but  fall  properlv  under  the 
head  of  demonology. 


>£i 


..-/■ 

'}'' 


t 


'  'J 


\J\     ^>^^   -s^^- 


^^ 

•.^4;; 

{. 

p. 

7^% 

-.-■i^ym 

■- 

•^'^ 

9 

Lieut.  J,  M.  Jamison. 
(Regimental  Quartermaster.) 


First  Lieut.  S.  D.  Porter. 
Co.  A. 


Below  Tulhihoma  some  distance  the  ra'lroad  passed 
through  a  thinly  settled,  wooded  country.  Not  far  from 
that  point,  on  the  west  side  of  tlie  track,  was  a  region  of  deep 
ravines,  and  steep,  rocky  hills,  all  thickly  covered  with  trees 
and  bushes.  This  region  furnished  the  marauders  a  vantage 
ground,  from  which  to  sally  out  and  to  which  to  retreat. 
Their  attacks  upon  the  railroad  were  always   late  in  the  after- 


TWEXTY-SEVEXTH    IXDIAXA.  457 

noon,  and  before  they  could  be  pursued  far,  darkness  would 
come  to  their  aid.  By  morning  they  would  be  dispersed,  and, 
in  appearance  and  by  profession,  they  would  be  the  most 
harmless  and  inoflfensive  of  citizens. 

Twice  during  the  winter,  trains  were  thrown  from  the 
portion  of  the  railroad  track  that  was  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Twenty-seventh.  Xo  lives  were  lost  either  time,  and 
the  destruction  of  property  was  not  large.  Before  the  villains 
could  kill,  burn  or  plunder  to  any  great  extent,  our  men  were 
upon  them. 

The  most  serious  aft'air  in  whicli  any  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  had  a  part,  while  the  regiment  was  at  Tullahoma. 
is  described  very  clearly,  and  in  detail,  in  an  order  which 
General  Thomas  issued  in  relation  to  it.  That  order  in  full  is 
as   follows  : 

Headquarters  Department  of  the  Cu.mberi.amj, 

Chattanooga,  Tenx.,  Jan.  1,  1864. 
General  Order  No.  6. 
It  having  been  reported  to  these  headquarters  that  between  seven 
and  eight  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  23d  ult.,  within  one  and  a  half 
miles  of  the  village  of  Mulberry,  Lincoln  county,  Tenn.,  a  wagon,  which 
had  become  detached  from  a  foraging  train  belonging  to  the  United 
States,  was  attacked  by  guerrillas,  and  the  officer  in  command  of  the 
foragers.  First  Lieutenant  Porter,  Company  A,  Twenty-seventh  Indiana 
Volunteers,  the  teamster.and  two  other  soldiers  who  had  been  sent  to  load 
the  train  (the  latter  four  unarmed)  captured.  They  were  immediately 
mounted  and  hurried  off,  the  guerrillas  avoiding  the  road,  until  the  party 
was  halted  about  one  o'clock  ui  the  morning,  on  the  bank  of  Elk  river, 
where  the  rebels  stated  they  were  going  into  camp  for  the  night.  The 
hands  of  the  prisoners  were  then  tied  behind  them,  and  they  were  then 
robbed  of  everything  of  value  upon  their  persons.  They  were  next  drawn 
up  in  line  about  five  paces  in  front  of  their  captors,  and  one  of  the  latter, 
who  acted  as  leader,  commanded  "  ready,"  and  the  whole  party  inunedi- 
ately  fired  upon  them.  One  of  the  prisoners  was  shot  through  the  head 
and  killed  instantly,  and  three  were  wounded.  Lieutenant  Porter  was 
not  hit.  He  immediately  ran,  was  followed  and  fired  upon  three  times 
by  one  of  the  party,  and  finding  that  he  was  about  to  be  overtaken,  threw 
himself  over  a  precipice  into  the  river,  and  succeeding  in  getting  his 
hands  loose,  swam  to  the  opposite  side  and,  although  pursued  to  that  side 
and  several  times  fired  upon,  he,  after  twenty-four  hours  of  extraordinary 
exertion  and  great  exposure,  reached  a  house,  whence  he  was  taken  to 
Tullahoma,  where  he  now  lies  in  a  critical  situation.  The  others  after 
being  shot,  were  immediately  thrown  into  the  river.  Thus  the  murder  of 
three  men,  Newall  E.  Orcutt,  Ninth  Independent  Battery,  Ohio  \'olunteer 
Artillery;  John  W.  Drought,  Company  H,  Twenty-second  Wisconsin  \'ol- 
unteers,  and  George  W.  Jacobs,  Company  I),  Twenty-second  Wisconsin 


458  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Volunteers,  was  accomplished  by  shooting  and  drowning.  The  fourth, 
James  \V.  Foley,  Ninth  Independent  Battery,  Ohio  Volunteer  Artillery,  is 
now  lying  in  hospital,  having  escaped  by  getting  his  hands  free  while  in 
the  water. 

F\ir  these  atrocious  and  cold-blot)ded  murders,  equalling  in  savage 
ferocity  any  ever  committed  by  the  most  barbarous  tribes  on  this  conti- 
nent, committed  by  rebel  citizens  of  Tennessee,  it  is  ordered  that  the 
property  of  all  other  rebel  citizens  living  within  a  circuit  of  ten  miles  of 
the  place  where  these  men  were  captured  be  assessed,  each  in  his  due 
proportion,  according  to  his  wealth,  to  make  up  the  sum  of  S':50,000,  to  be 
divided  among  the  families  who  were  dependent  on  the  murdered  men 
for  support  as  follows:  Ten  thousand  dollars  to  be  paid  to  the  widow  of 
George  W.  Jacobs,  of  Delavan,  Walworth  county,  Wisconsin,  for  the  sup- 
port of  herself  and  one  child.  Ten  thousand  dollars  to  be  paid  to  the 
widow  of  John  W.  Drought,  of  North  Cape,  Racine  county,  Wisconsin, 
for  the  support  of  herself  and  two  children.  Ten  thousand  dollars  to  be 
divided  between  the  aged  mother  and  sister  of  Newell  E.  Orcutt,  of  Bur- 
ton, Geauga  county,  Ohio.  Should  the  persons  assessed  fail  within  one 
week  after  notice  shall  have  been  served  on  them,  to  pay  the  amount  of 
the  tax  in  money,  sufficient  of  their  personal  property  shall  be  seized  and 
sold  at  public  auction  to  make  up  the  amount.  Major-General  H.  W. 
Slocum,  commanding  Twelfth  Army  Corps,  is  charged  with  the  execu- 
tion of  this  order. 

The  men  who  committed  the  murder,  if  caught,  will  be  summarily 
executed,  and  any  person  executing  them  will  be  held  guiltless,  and  will 
receive  the  protection  of  this  army;  and  all  persons  who  are  suspected  of 
having  aided  or  harbored  these  guerrillas  will  be  immediately  arrested 
and  tried  by  a  military  commission. 

By  Command  of 

Major-General  Thomas. 
Wm.  D.  Whipple,  A.  A.  G. 

The  foregoing  aflair,  in  all  of  its  details,  was  shocking, 
but  it  revealed  the  characters  we  were  dealing  with  and  put 
us  on  our  guard.  Our  forage  trains  continued  to  go  into  that 
same  region  all  Winter,  and  no  more  of  our  men  were 
molested.  Lieutenant  Porter,  "Sam,'"  as  he  was  called  by 
his  intimate  friends,  had  the  hearty  sympathy  of  all  of  us. 
He  has  never  fully  recovered  from  the  barbarous  ordeal  to 
which  he  was  then  subjected. 

An  effort  was  made  immediately  to  apprehend  and  punish 
the  perpetrators  of  this  crime.  A  large  number  of  persons 
were  arrested,  both  as  principals  and  accessories,  and  brought 
to  Tullahoma.  Later  a  military  commission  was  convened, 
and  was  in  session  many  days,  trying  them.  The  understand- 
ing was  that  several  of  them  were  found  guilty  and  sentenced 
to  death  ;  and  there  was  a  report  afterwards  that  they  had 
been   executed   in   the    penitentiary  at   Nashville,  where   they 


T\VENTV-SP:VENTir     INDIANA.  459 

were  sent  after  being  convicted.  We  of  the  Twenty-Seventh 
always  had  our  fears,  not  to  say  doubts,  about  the  latter  report 
being  true. 

The  money  mentioned  in  General  Thomas'  order  was 
promptly  collected  and  paid  to  those  to  whom,  by  the  terms 
of  the  order,  it  was  due.  For  this  purpose  a  regiment,  the 
One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  New  York,  recently  attached  to 
our  brigade,  was  sent  into  the  neighborhood  where  the  crime 
was  committed.  A  surprising  fact  in  this  connection,  that 
the  writer  happens  to  know  of,  was  that  most  of  the  money 
was  paid  promptly,  and  much  of  it  was  paid  in  gold.  The 
people  were  thus  vastly  more  able  to  pay  their  assessments 
than  anybody  had  supposed  them  to  be. 

Under  the  provision  that  property  should  be  taken  and 
sold,  in  cases  where  the  money  was  not  forthcoming,  several 
bales  of  cotton  were  levied  upon  and  brought  to  Tullahoma 
to  be  exposed  for  sale.  As  Post  Provost  marshal  Captain 
Williams  had  charge  of  this  latter  transaction.  To  facilitate 
it  a  live  or  six-line  notice  was  inserted  in  a  Nashville  paper. 
The  first  to  see  this,  apparently,  were  the  treasury  agents, 
whose  business  it  was  to  prevent  the  army  from  dabbling  in 
cotton.  They  made  their  appearance  in  Tullahoma  without 
delay,  but  the  sale  was  not  interfered  with.  At  the  present 
writing  cotton  is  quoted  at  four  cents  per  pound.  This  cotton 
brought  sixty-three  oiid  oi/c-halj  cents,  cash,  at  public  auction. 
These  were  war  prices ! 

The  organization  of  the  Twentieth  Corps,  which  occurred 
at  this  time,  by  the  consolidation  of  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth 
Corps,  and  the  addition  of  other  troops,  making  three  strong 
divisions,  had  some  features  about  it  that  were  agreeable  to 
us,  and  others  that  were  quite  the  reverse.  We  were  pleased 
to  have  a  larger  corps;  the  Twelfth  Corps,  as  it  was,  with  all 
our  pride  in  its  record,  was  too  small.  It  never  hatl  regularlv 
but  two  divisions,  and  those  were  hardly  up  to  the  standard 
for  size.  In  consequence,  the  corps  had  been  overshadowed 
by  larger  corps  and  deprived  of  proper  credit.  This  was  true 
both  at  Chancel lorsville  and  Gettysburg.  It  was  next  to 
impossible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  for  a  small  corps  to  attain 
to  the  prestige  of  a  large  one.  To  give  us  a  larger  corps, 
therefore,  was  in  the   line  of  our  ambitions. 

But  to  lose  General  Slocum  and  to  have  the  number  of 
our  brigade  changed  (from  Third  to  JSecond)  were  both  highly 


460 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


unsatisfactory.  Neither  of  these  things  should  have  been 
done.  General  Slocum  was  given  command  of  the  Twentieth 
Corps  later,  and  developments,  both  before  and  afterward, 
proved  that  this  should  have  been  done  at  the  start.  It  was 
said  at  the  time  that  the  Eleventh  Corps  men  were  responsible 
for  the  fact  that  the  Twentieth  Corps  used  the  badge  of  the 
Twelfth  Corps.  When  it  was  proposed  to  make  the  badge  of 
the  new  corps  a  combination  of  the  two  former  ones — a  star 
and  crescent — they  said,  "  No,  let  it  be  the  star  alone."  So 
it  was,  and  we  ^vere  thus  permitted  to  wear  our  red  stars  on 
to  the  end.      For   this  we  owe   them  a  great  tlebt.      It  may  be 


Maj.-Gex.  Geo.  II.  Tiro>rAs. 

(Commander  Army  of  the  Cumberland.) 

a  little  late  to  suggest  it  now,  but  if  they  had  only  thought 
to  go  a  little  further  and  suggest  that  the  name  of  the  Twelfth 
Corps  and  its  commander  also  be  retained,  our  obligations  to 
them  would  have  been  vastly  increased. 

Our  brigade  should  also  have  been  allowed  to  retain  its 
old  number.  Some  may  ask,  with  a  sneer,  "  what's  in  a 
name.'"'  But  thoughtful  people  know  that  there  is  something 
nevertheless.  When  it  carries  with  it  thoughts  and  associa- 
tions that  incite  and  inspire  to  high  endeavors,  there  is  much 
in  a  name,    Throughf)ut  almost  the  entire  period  of  their  active 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  461 

service,  the  several  regiments,  now  under  General  Ruger,  had 
been  known  as  the  Third  Brigade.  Without  really  intending 
it,  they  had  come  to  call  themselves,  and  others  had  come  to 
call  them,  by  that  name,  in  almost  the  same  sense  that  certain 
brigades  were  known  as  '■  The  Iron  Brigade,''  "  The  Excelsior 
Brigade,"  The  Irish  Brigade,"  etc.,  etc.  To  change  the  num- 
ber, therefore,  amounted  to  a  legal  (or  illegal)  prohibition  of 
something  that  was  not  only  convenient  from  long  usage, 
but  was  a  matter  of  pride  and  ambition  as  well.  There  was 
not  a  little  lost  to  the  army,  through  frequent  changes.  New 
commanders,  strangers  to  antecedent  facts,  often  turned  every- 
thing topsy  turvy.  Men  with  axes  to  grind  also  secured 
transfers  and  interchanges  in  their  own  interests.  What  were 
the  wishes,  or  what  the  reputation,  or  even ^  the  lives,  of  a 
thousand  or  so  men,  if  they  stood  in  the  way  of  their  ambi- 
tion? But  the  history  of  this  subject  unquestionably  shows 
that,  other  things  being  equal,  those  regiments  that  remained 
in  the  same  relations,  and  larger  commands  that  preserved 
the  same  organizations,  for  the  longest  periods,  not  only  made 
for  themselves  the  best  names,  but  actually  rendered  the  best 
service. 

In  this  same  connection  the  troops  lately  from  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  were  regularly  incorporated  into  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland.  This  we  have  always  rejoiced  over.  We 
wanted  to  remain  in  the  Wes*^,  now  that  we  were  here;  and, 
remaining  in  the  W^est,  we  wanted  to  be  fully  identified  with 
the  Western  army.  The  Army  of  the  Cumberland  already 
had  an  enviable  record,  and  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  its 
commander,  had  already  established  himself  as  one  of  the  few 
really  great  generals  of  history.  The  survivors  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  have  always  cherished  the  fact  with  especial  pride 
that  their  regiment  sustained  actual,  vital  relations  with  those 
two  illustrious  armies — the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland.  It  was  the  only  regiment  from 
Indiana  that  was  favored  with  that  distinction. 

All  of  the  foregoing  reorganizations  and  changes  grew 
out  of  another  transaction  of  gieat  import.  That  w'as  the  pro- 
motion of  General  Grant  to  the  command  of  all  of  the  armies 
of  the  United  States,  and  of  General  Sherman  to  succeed  him 
as  commander  of  the  Military  Division  of  the  Mis>sissippi. 
The  latter  embraced  all  of  the  Western  armies.  Nothing  ever 
occurred  in  the  career  of  the  Twenty  seventh  that  had,  in   all 


462 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


respects,  us  satisfactory  an  outcome,  and  that  through  all  the 
years,  has  so  comforted  and  rewarded  the  survivors  of  the  regi- 
inent  for  their  toils  and  sacrifices,  as  the  fact  that  they  served 
with,  and  became  thus  historically  related  to,  this  rare  military 
genius  and  incomparable  army  comrade.  To  have  blacked 
officers'  shoes  or  driven  a  mule  team  under  Sherman  was  glory 
enough  for  an  ordinary  lifetime. 


Gen.  W.  T,   Sherman. 

(From  a  war  time  photo.L^^raph.) 

Dr.  Woollen  tells  of  a  good  hit,  sprung  upon  him  during  this  period, 
at  the  expense  of  his  profession.  While  the  Twenty-seventh  was  at  Tul- 
lahoma,  the  Doctor  was  appointed  surgeon-in-charge  of  a  large  general 
hospital  at  Murfreesboro.  This  was  a  high  compliment  to  the  Doctor,  his 
age  considered,  but  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  story.  As  one  of  the 
steps  in  securing  discipline  in  the  hospital  and  riddmg  it  of  numerous 
species  of  disorder  and  incompetency,  with  their  resulting  filth  and  con- 
tagion, among  which  was  hospital  gangrene,  the  Doctor  early  established 
a  system  of  rigid  weekly  inspections,  according  to  Army  Regulations.  At 
the  first  inspection  he  found  much  that  comfirmed  him  as  to  the  call  for 
such  a  course,  as  well  as  some  crude  but  sincere  preparations. 

Upon  approaching  a  certain  bed  in  one  of  the  wards,  however,  he 
could  see  at  a  glance  that  everything  was  in  striking  contrast  to  some 
that  he  had  found  before  that.     Here  was  a  trained  soldier.     All  the  sur- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  463 

roLindings  were  neatly  tidied,  the  bed  was  clean,  made  up  perfectly  and 
ail  of  its  accessories  arranged  in  apple-pie  order.  On  its  foot  sat  its  occu- 
pant, convalescent,  as  the  majority  in  the  hospital  were.  When  the  Doctor 
drew  near  the  man  rose  to  his  feet  and  saluted,  then  stood  at  attention. 
The  Doctor  briefly  complimented  him  and  was  passing  on,  when  the  man 
said,  "  I  see  you  don't  know  me,  Doctor."  Dr.  Woollen  took  a  second 
look  at  him,  but  was  obliged  to  confess  that  he  did  not  recollect  him. 
"  Why,"  said  the  man,  "  I  belong  to  your  regiment,  the  Twenty-seventh 
Indiana."  The  Doctor  expressed  his  pleasure,  and  again  complimented 
the  man  onhisevident  soldierly  qualities,  remarking  upon  the  fact  also  that 
he  had  been  detailed  tododuty  away  from  theregiment  a  considerable  part 
of  the  time.  The  man  then  stated  that  he  also  had  been  absent  on 
detached  duty  when  taken  sick.  "  W'hat  have  you  been  doing?"  was  the 
natural  inquiry  of  the  Doctor.  With  a  wave  of  his  hand  and  a  twinkle  in 
his  eye,  the  man  replied,  "  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  same  occupation 
as  yourself,  Doctor,  I  have  been  brigade  butcher." 

Many  of  the  Twenty-seventh  will  doubtless  remember  the  incident 
about  the  coffin,  at  Tallahoma.  Among  the  quartermaster's  stores,  kept 
in  the  old  depot,  not  very  carefully  guarded,  was  a  lot  of  plain,  unpainted 
poplar  coffins.  All  who  were  about  the  building,  as  most  of  us  were 
occasionally,  were  accustomed  to  seeing  them,  piled  up  in  one  end  of  the 
disorderly  room.  But  at  length,  one  of  them  came  up  missing.  Rather  a 
strange  thing  to  steal,  was  a  coffin.  Still  the  quartermaster  had  to  ac- 
count for  them,  the  same  as  for  other  property,  and  he  did  not  care  to 
pay  for  one  out  of  his  own  pocket.  The  search  for  it  was  entered  upon 
somewhat  hopelessly,  however,  as  no  one  could  think  of  anybody  having 
any  use  for  a  coffin,  except  to  split  it  up  for  kindling,  in  which  case  it 
would  be  useless  to  h  nt  for  it  now.  In  this  res])ect  the  searching  party, 
as  well  as  the  quartermaster,  was  soon  agreeably  surprised.  Before  going 
far  they  found  the  missing  article,  snugly  stowed  away  in  a  soldier's  quar- 
ters, in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation.  He  had  taken  it  to  use  as  a  cup- 
board. 

A  certain  squad  of  Twenty-seventh  boys  (though  scarcely  boys  now) 
still  have  fun  among  themselves,  when  they  meet,  as  they  only  can  at 
long  intervals  (for  half  the  continent  divides  them),  over  a  little  episode 
at  Tullahoma,  with  reference  to  an  oyster  supper.  They  thought  it  would 
be  nice  to  have  such  a  supper,  at  the  house  of  one  ot  the  friendly  citizens. 
They  were  to  furnish  the  oysters  and  all  the  necessary  adjuncts,  while  the 
friendly  people  of  the  house  were  to  furnish  the  room  for  the  assemblage 
and  the  cooks,  inviting  for  this  purpose  sundry  young  ladies  of  the  town. 
No  need  to  state  that  here  was  the  real  attraction.  All  went  well,  but  the 
supper  was  unaccountably  long  in  preparation.  Some  of  the  boys,  better 
acquainted  than  the  rest,  had  suggested  that,  if  the  ladies  did  not  under- 
stand how  to  cook  oysters,  they  would  be  only  too  glad  to  assist  them. 
Their  services  were  declined  with  thanks.  The  ladies  knew  perfectly 
well  how  to  cook  oysters.  Very  late,  the  guests  were  at  last  called  into  the 
dining  room.  As  they  sat  down  to  the  table,  the  hostess  apologized,  very 
humbly,  for  the  tedious  delay,  and  expressed  the  fear  that  the  boys  would 
not  find  the  oysters  very  good.  She  said  she  had  boikd  them  for  orer  an 
hour  (t/'d  yet  they  ifould  not  yet  tender! 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


RESACA. 


On  Tuesday  morning,  April  28,  the  Twenty-seventh, 
having  bidden  good-by  to  friends,  turned  away  from  familiar 
scenes  and  marched  out  of  TuUahoma.  It  was  now  entering 
upon  the  famous  battle  summer  of  18G4.  The  day  proved  to 
be  sultry,  and  there  was  soon  a  radical  discarding  of  over- 
coats, blankets  and  surplus  clothing.  Soldiers  early  learn  to 
be  wary  about  what  they  try  to  carry  on  a  march  ;  but  when 
there  is  a  possibility  of  more  cold  weather,  and  some  uncer- 
taint}'  as  to  how  fast  or  how  far  the  march  is  to  be,  the 
impulse  is  strong  to  hold  on  to  articles  of  comfort.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  heat  to-day  the  movement  was  sprightly.  Conse- 
quently the  road  was  speedily  strewai  with  various  articles 
that  the  boys  concluded  to  dispense  with.  Towards  evening 
there  was  an  April  shower.  Dechard  was  our  stopping  place 
for  the  night. 

This  time  the  column  diverged  eastward  from  the  rail- 
road at  Dechard,  and  sa\v  it  no  more  between  that  and 
Bridgeport.  The  second  night,  after  an  all  day's  ascent  of 
the  mountain,  we  stopped  at  University  Place.  This  was 
another  one  of  those  localities  the  extreme  beauty  and  attract- 
iveness of  which  was  marred  only  by  the  fact  that  a  bloody 
war  was  raging.  The  rebel  General  Polk,  of  whom  we  are 
to  hear  later,  had  some  leading  part  in  establishing  the  college 
here.  In  descending  from  the  mountain  our  course  lay  down 
the  valley  of  Battle  Creek.  The  roads  were  rough  at  best, 
and  the  rains  falling  every  day  did  not  improve  them. 

On  Sunday,  May  1,  Bridgeport  was  reached,  the  Tennes- 
see river  was  crossed,  and  the  march  continued  on  to  Shell- 
mound.  This  was  the  first  day  since  starting  that  it  did  not 
rain. 

A  half  day's  march  on  the  2d  brought  us  to  Whitesides. 
This  was  tlie  rallying  point  for  our  corps.  We  were  again 
with  troops  here  with  which  we  had  long  been  associated,  but 
which  we    had    not    seen    since    the  past  summer.      A  marked 


TWENTY-SE\'EXTH    INDIANA.  465 

change  had  come  over  the  weather.  When  we  started  early 
the  following  morning  the  ground  was  frozen.  The  stop  for 
dinner  that  day  was  in  the  shadow  of  Lookout  Mountain.  In 
the  afternoon  we  passed  around  the  base  of  Lookout,  into  the 
Chattanooga  Valley,  and  camped  not  far  from  the  town. 
Another  early  start  on  the  4th  took  us  over  Missionary  Ridge, 
through  Rossville,  and  into  camp  for  the  night  at  Lee  and 
Gordon's  mill. 

For  several  days  we  had  been  marching  over  notable 
ground.  Most  of  the  names  along  the  way,  even'  the  names 
of  small  villages  and  little  streams,  had  been  blazed  many 
times  over  in  flaming  headlines.  The  latter  part  of  the  march 
to-day  had  been  over  the  battlefield  of  Chickamauga.  The 
evidences  of  its  severity  were  still  very  apparent.  The  tim- 
ber splintered  and  scarred,  the  ground  strewn  with  fragments 
of  all  kinds  of  articles  used  by  armies,  and  the  unburied.  or 
half  buried  and  now  uncovered,  skeletons  of  human  beings 
again  impressed  us  shockingly  with  the  fact  that  war  is  the 
same  everywhere.  Almost  every  member  of  the  Twentv- 
seventh  had  near  relatives,  or  intimate  personal  friends,  in 
the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  many  of  whom  lost  their  lives. 

On  the  5th  we  marched  in  the  direction  of  Ringgold. 
Passing  Rock  Spring  we  camped  for  the  night  at  Pleasant 
Grove  church.  The  following  day  we  did  not  move.  Tav- 
lor's  Ridge  still  separated  us  from  the  main  body  of  our  army. 

This  whole  region  of  country  is  very  broken.  Running 
from  northeast  to  southwest  are  numerous  "  ridges,"'  so  called. 
They  are  really  formidable  mountains.  They  are  practicallv 
impassable,  except  through  certain  low  places,  or  gaps,  to  be 
found  only  at  intervals  of  several  miles.  Between  these 
ridges  the  ground  is  often  very  rough,  cut  up  by  small  streams 
and  deep  ravines.  In  war  time  only  patches  of  the  ground, 
here  and  there,  were  cleared. 

On  the  7th  we  passed  through  Nickajack  Gap,  a  break  in 

Taylor's   Ridge.      It  is  a   long,  narrow,  rocky  defile,  wild   and 

picturesque,  and  associated  with  Indian   history  and    legends, 

as    so   much   of    this    region    is.       A    few    men    could    defend 

Nickajack  Gap  against  an  army;   but  the  passage  of  the  Union 

army  through    it    had    not    been    disputed.      We  stopped  at  a 

place  bearing  the  suggestive  name  of  "  Trickum,"  otherwise 

known  as  Anderson  Postoftice. 

We  had   now  arrived    in    close    proximity  to  the    bulk  of 
30 


466  IIISTORV    OF    THE 

Sherman's  army.  It  was  at  this  time  confronting  another 
'"ridge,"  known  as  "Rocky  Face."  Sharp  cannonading 
was  in  progress  in  man}^  places,  and  there  had  been  some 
sharp  fighting  by  the  infantry. 

Perhaps  before  going  further  a  few  words  as  to  the  gen- 
eral situation  may  aid  in  understanding  what  follows.  The 
rebel  army  against  which  ours  was  now  advancing  was  com- 
manded by  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  one  of  the  ablest  of 
their  military  men.  He  had  an  army  of  between  sixty  and 
seventy  thousand,  all  told.  To  combat  this  rebel  army  Sher- 
man had  about  an  even  one  hundred  thousand,  of  all  ranks. 
This  difi'erence  was  not  great,  considering  that  Sherman  was 
the  aggressor,  and  that  the  further  he  advanced  the  more  it 
would  deplete  his  army,  to  keep  open  his  line  of  supplies. 
His  well-understood  purpose  was  to  advance  upon  and  capture 
Atlanta,  then,  as  now,  considered  the  "  Gate  City  "'  of  the 
South.  Its  possession  by  the  Union  army  would  greatly 
cripple  the  rebellion.  The  struggle  for  its  possession  could 
not,  therefore,  be  otherwise  than  fierce  and  prolonged. 

Sherman  was  already  far  in  the  interior  of  the  enemy's 
country.  The  railroad  over  which  he  received  his  supplies 
^vas  liable  to  interruption  at  any  time,  as  far  back  as  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  and  had  to  be  carefully  guarded  the  whole 
■distance.  Over  it  must  come  an  average  of  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  car  loads  of  stuff  daily,  or  suffering  must  ensue. 

But  never  was  an  army  more  thoroughly  reduced  to  a 
basis  of  actual  necessities.  We  have  seen  that  when  the 
Tweity-seventh  started  out  at  first,  it  had  more  than  thirty 
teams  of  its  own.  On  the  return  from  Coonrod's  ferry  we 
saw  a  hundred  or  more  wagons  marked  as  if  they  might 
belong  to  General  Banks  and  his  staff.  On  this  Atlanta  cam- 
paign a  regiment  was  limited  to  one  four-mule  team  and  a 
company  to  one  pack  mule.  Officers  of  all  grades  were  prac- 
tically denied  all  transportation  for  personal  effects.  A  loss  to 
this  narrative  has  been  that  the  regimental  books  were  sent 
to  the  rear  at  this  time  and  no  member  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
has  set  eyes  on  them  since.  Another  change  ordered  at  tiiis 
time  was  that  a  considerable  number  of  men  employed  about 
company  and  regimental  headquarters,  in  the  medical  and 
commissary  departments,  etc.,  who  heretofore  had  been  ex- 
cused from  all  other  duty,  were  now  required  to  take  their 
muskets  and  go  into  the   ranks   in    time    of  b. it  tic      The    plan 


TWENTV-SEViiNTH     INDIANA.  467 

was  that  all   who  consumed   supplies   must  contribute    to   tiie 
fighting  strength. 

Returning  now  to  the  narrative  of  events,  we  find  Sher- 
man's army  assembled  in  front  of  Rocky  Face  ridge,  mostly 
near  a  gap  known  as  Mill  Creek,  or"  Buzzard's  Roost.'"  This 
ga|.  was  held  by  the  enemy,  who  had  strongly  fortified  it,  and 
it  would  seem  that,  even  before  the  arrival  of  our  division, 
Sherman  had  decided  not  to  attempt  to  take  the  place  by 
direct  assault.  Such  an  attempt  would  make  it  more  of  a 
buzzard's  roost  than  ever.  On  the  contrary,  he  had  decided 
upon  one  of  the  flank  movements  for  which  this  campaign 
became  famous.  General  McPherson  had  been  sent  to  try  a 
passage  through  Snake  Creek  Gap,  another  opening  in  the 
same  chain  of  mountains,  several  miles  to  the  southwest. 
Snake  Creek  Gap  was  found  unguarded  and  McPherson's 
army  promptly  passed  through. 

The  Twentieth  Corps  being  ordered  to  follow  McPher- 
son, the  Twenty-seventh  started  at  midnight  on  the  9th,  and 
passed  through  Snake  Creek  Gap  the  next  afternoon.  This 
gap  receives  its  name  from  a  creek,  whose  tortuous  course 
resembles  the  trail  of  a  snake,  and  which  passes  through  this 
opening  in  the  mountains.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
wilder,  more  uncanny-looking  place,  than  Snake  Creek  Gap. 
Here  one  could  study  nature  in  its  untamed,  gigantic  aspects. 
In  many  places  the  rocks  tower  very  high  on  both  sides  of 
the  road,  and  the  narrow  space  between  the  cliff's  is  often  filled 
with  tall  trees  and  a  dense  growth  of  under  brush  and  vines. 
Damp  and  shadowy,  and  resonant  with  reverberating  noises 
and  echoes,  it  seemed  like  the  entrance  to  a  cavern. 

Our  brigade  at  length  camped  upon  low  ground,  along 
vSnake  creek,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  gap.  In  the 
night  there  was  a  heavy  thunder  shower,  accompanied  with  a 
high  wind.  Many  tents  were  blown  down  and  in  an  incredi- 
bly short  time  the  water  of  the  creek  began  to  overflow  the 
camp.  Never  was  the  old  brigaae  so  quickly  routed  and  dis- 
comfited. Bareheaded,  shoeless  and  pantless,  the  men  stood 
not  on  the  order  of  their  going,  but  gathering  their  worldly 
effects  in  their  arms,  went  skurrving  to  the  higher  ground 
along  the  hillsides.  The  rapid  flashes  of  lightning  not  only 
guided  their  course,  but  also  exposed  their  condition  and  con- 
duct to  onlookers. 

Even    before    the   Twentieth    Cures    had   entirelv  cleared 


468  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Snake  Creek  Gap  the  rebel  commander  evacuated  ISIill  Creek 
Gap,  and  the  region  of  country  adjacent,  and  moved  back  to 
Resaca,  This  point  had  been  previously  fortified,  as  if  in  prep- 
aration for  such  a  move.  That  a  battle  would  be  fought  here 
soon  became  evident. 

The  country  around  Resaca  is  rough  and,  at  this  date,  was 
largely  timbered.  It  required  considerable  time,  therefore,  to 
locate  the  positions  of  the  enemy,  and  get  readv  to  attack 
them.  For  two  days  our  part  of  the  army  seemed  to  be  wait- 
ing for  roadway.  When  we  finally  began  moving  to  the  left, 
to  the  northwarc.  of  the  town,  progress  was  gradual.  Most  of 
the  time  heavy  skirmishing  was  going  on  in  our  hearing.  On 
the  18th  and  14th  of  May,  there  was  savage  fighting.  We 
took  no  part  di recti v,  though  we  were  frequently  exposed  to 
overshots. 

On  the  evening  of  the  14th.  a  portion  of  our  division  was 
given  an  opportunity  to  demonstrate  what  it  could  do.  As 
we  were  moving  to  the  left  the  enemy  made  an  impetuous 
attack  upon  a  part  of  our  line,  near  where  we  happened  to  be, 
and  broke  through  it.  The  infantry  was  giving  ground  in 
some  disorder  and  a  battery  of  artillery  was  on  the  point  of 
being  taken,  in  fact,  was  already  inside  of  the  enemy's  line. 
But  General  Williams,  our  division  commander,  promptly 
formed  his  Third  Brigade  (ours  was  now  the  Second  Brigade) 
and  thrust  it  into  the  breach.  The  movement  was  admirable, 
both  in  its  manner  and  in  the  success  which  it  could  not  fail 
to  realize.  The  tide  was  forthwith  turned,  the  enemv  was 
sent  whirling  backward,  the  battery  was  saved  and  all  lo>t 
ground  was  recovered. 

It  was  curious  how  cjuickly  this  incident  put  an  end  to 
the  previous  ill  feeling  of  some  of  the  men  of  the  Western 
army  towards  those  who  had  recently  come  from  the  Armv 
of  the  Potomac.  This  was  particularlv  true  of  those  who 
witnessed  it.  The  foolish  impression  was  more  or  less  preva- 
lent in  the  Western  army  that  the  reason  why  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  had  not  taken  Richmond  was  because  it  would 
not  fight.  This  did  not  seem  to  have  its  origin  in  sectional 
prejudice,  for  we  who  belonged  in  the  West  were  no  more  ex- 
empt from  the  accusation  than  others.  The  statistics  of  bat- 
tle losses,  and  other  facts  about  the  severity  of  battles,  were 
not  as  well  known  then  as  now.  When  the  Twenty-seventh 
was  passing  through  Tennessee,  on  its  way  from  the  Army  of 


TWENTY   SEVENTH     INDIANA.  469 

the  Potomac,  an  Indiana  regiment  was  guarding  the  railroad 
over  which  we  traveled.  It  had  been  organized  at  Camp 
jSIorton  at  the  same  time  that  the  Twenty-seventh  was,  and 
had  started  to  the  field  about  the  same  time.  Up  to  this  point 
in  its  service  it  had  only  met  the  enemy  in  one  insignificant 
engagement,  and  then  had  been  captured  bodilv.  This  record, 
if  not  blameworthy,  was  certainly  nothing  to  boast  of.  The 
foregoing  pages  may  indicate,  in  a  feeble  way,  what  the  rec- 
ord of  the  Twenty-seventh  had  been.  Yet  the  members  of  the 
other  regiment  taunted  us,  as  we  passed  by,  with  such  shouts 
as  "All  quiet  on  the  Potomac,''  "Fall  in  for  soft  bread," 
••  Hello,  paper  collar  soldiers,"  "  Hadn't  vou  better  stop  and 
black  your  shoes,"  etc..  etc.  But  the  way  our  Army  of  the 
Potomac  men  handled  themselves,  and  the  wav  they  handled 
the  enemy  at  this  time  largely  put  a  stop  to  such  things. 

Old  '*  Pap''  Williams  evidently  thought  of  these  matters 
in  this  connection.  He  was  a  Western  man  himself,  at  least 
by  adoption,  and  was  in  full  sympathy  with  Western  people 
and  their  ways.  But  he  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to 
even  up  with  men  when  he  had  such  a  good  opportunity.  As 
the  men  of  the  line  that  had  been  broken  came  tumbling 
back,  and  officers  appealed  to  him  with  much  warmth  to  come 
to  their  assistance,  he  said,  "  Yes,  yes,  get  your  men  out  of 
the  way.  I  have  some  soldiers  here  (barely  a  slight  emphasis 
on  the  word  soldiers)  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  who 
can  take  care  of  these  rebels." 

By  the  morning  of  the  15th  the  Twentieth  Corps  had 
mostly  reached  the  vicinity  of  its  assigned  position.  After 
some  preliminary  moves  the  Twenty-seventh  finally  took  its 
place  in  the  line  of  the  brigade,  which  was  formed  along  a 
timbered  ridge  (not  a  mountain)  overlooking  a  wide  ravine, 
along  which  the  ground  was  somewhat  open.  The  whole  line 
then  moved  forward  across  the  ravine  and  open  ground, 
almost  to  the  crest  of  the  next  ridge,  which  was  not  as  high 
as  the  first  had  been.  This  advance  brought  some  of  the  regi- 
ments to  our  left  out  into  the  cleared  fields,  near  tlie  log  farm- 
house of  one  J.  F.  Scales.  Tliis  house  was  some  two  miles 
north  of  Resaca,  near  the  railroad,  on  its  west  side. 

In  this  position  the  Twenty-seventh  was  on  the  right  of 
the  brigade.  The  Second  Massachusetts  joined  us  on  the 
left,  while  next  to  us  on  the  right  was  the  Forty-sixth  Penn- 
svlvania,  of  tiie  First  Brigade.      The  enemv's  main  entrenched 


470  HISTORY    OF    THE 

line  was  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  in  front  of  ours. 
Further  to  our  left  his  line  curved  back  somewhat,  to  conform 
to  the  ridge  upon  which  it  was  located,  and  was,  therefore, 
further  awa}'  from  the  Union  line.  The  ground  between  the 
two  lines  varied  considerably,  but  it  was  all  more  or  less  tim- 
bered, except  just  about  the  Scales  house.  As  has  been  said, 
the  line  of  the  Twenty-seventh  was  not  quite  upon  the  crest 
of  the  ridge,  but  slightly  back  from  it.  After  the  crest  was 
passed  the  ground  immediately  in  our  front  descended  gradu- 
ally, through  open  timber,  for  eighty  yards.  Forty  yards 
further  on,  upon  quite  a  steep  bluff,  was  the  enemy's  line, 
behind  a  good  breastwork  of  timber  and  earth.  The  fact  will 
be  clear  to  all  soldiers  that  nothing  but  the  trees,  which  stood 
between  the  enemy's  line  and  our  own,  and  which  hid  the  one 
from  the  other,  prevented  active  hostilities  from  the  start. 

When  the  writer,  and  others  formerly  connected  with 
the  Twenty-seventh,  visited  this  field  in  1(S95,  the  land  near 
the  position  of  the  regiment  had  been  cleared.  A  cotton 
field  extended  from  the  swale,  back  of  where  our  line  was, 
forward  to  the  base  of  the  bluff  occupied  by  the  enemy's  line. 
A  log  farmhouse  stood  near  the  exact  spot  where  the  right  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  rested  against  the  left  of  the  Forty-sixth 
Pennsylvania.  The  various  positions  were  identified  beyond 
a  doubt  and  the  distances  were  carefully  measured.  The 
ground  not  having  been  cleared  at  that  point,  the  excavation 
for  the  enemy's  breastworks  were  still  plainly  visible. 

The  thought  underlying  the  enemy's  action  on  this  part 
of  the  field  of  Resaca,  and  which  brought  on  the  engagement 
at  this  point,  was  the  same  that  we  shall  see  so  frequently 
controlled  him  in  this  campaign,  namel}',  to  take  advantage 
of  our  side  before  it  w^as  fully  established.  We  had  only 
begun  on  our  breastworks,  therefore,  when  the  advance  of 
the  enemy  was  reported.  The  attack  began  on  our  left  and 
swept  towards  our  right,  which  was  another  characteristic  of 
the  enemy  throughout  the  campaign. 

While  we  were  busily  engaged  upon  our  breastworks,  a 
sharp  fire  suddenly  opened  along  our  skirmish  line.  As  our 
skirmishers  were  under  express  orders  not  to  fire  their  muskets, 
except  under  very  strong  provocation.  Colonel  Colgrove  gal- 
loped his  horse  out  to  ascertain  what  the  matter  was.  Com- 
pany G  was  acting  as  skirmishers,  and  the  boys  surmised  that 
Capt.  Peter   Fesler  would    hear   things  from    the  colonel   that 


TWENTV-SEVENTII    INDIANA. 


471 


he  had  been  known  to  hear  before.  On  the  contrary,  when 
the  colonel  had  inquired  tlie  cause  of  the  firing,  he  was 
requested  to  come  to  the  point  where  Captain  Fesler  was. 
He  there  saw,  what  others  had  seen,  that  the  enemy's  skir- 
mishers were  not  onl}'  pushing  forward,  but   that   tlieir   main 


■^^ 


line  was  coming  over  their  breastworks  and  forming  in  front 
of  them.      The  evident  design  was  to  assault  our  position. 

It  was  very  fortunate  that  Colonel   Colgrove   had   gone 
forward  as  he  had.      He  was  thus  enabled  to  set  a  trap  for  the 


472  HISTORY    OF    THE 

enemy  which  gave  us  an  easy  victory.  Hurrying  back  to  the 
Twenty-seventh  he  moved  it  forward  ahnost  half-way  to  the 
enemy's  breastworks.  There  he  had  the  men  lie  do\vn  where 
they  were  largely  screened  from  view.  They  were  to  remain 
in  that  position  until  he  gave  the  word.  The  company  on  the 
skirmish  line  was  to  resist  as  long  as  possible,  then  quietly 
fall  into  its  place  in  the  regiment.  At  the  command  the 
whole  line  was  to  rise  up,  fire  a  careful,  deliberate  volley  into 
the  ranks  of  the  advancing  enemy,  then  charge  them  with  the 
bayonet. 

These  preliminaries  had  barely  been  arranged  when  the 
rebel  line  swept  forward.  No  soldier  will  ever  forget  the 
surging  emotions  started  within  him  by  the  announcement, 
"  They're  coming,  boys!"  or,  what  is  still  more  thrilling,  the 
actual  sight  of  the  advancing  column!  A  moment,  under 
such  circumstances,  seems  an  age.  At  this  time  the  men  of 
Company  G  disputed  the  ground  inch  by  inch.  Then,  one 
by  one.  they  quietly  rallied  to  their  places  in  the  ranks. 
Down  the  hill,  and  out  into  the  more  level  ground  moved  the 
men  in  gray !  Unconscious  of  danger  at  this  point,  their 
steps  were  firm  and  their  ranks  in  order.  Will  Colonel  Col- 
grove  never  break  the  silence? 

At  length,  when  the  rebel  force  was  only  thirty-five  yards 
aw^ay,  the  Colonel,  speaking  in  slow,  distinct  tones,  said, 
"  Now,  boys.  Ready,  aim,  fire!"  Then  he  fairly  shrieked 
the  one  word  "  Charge  !"  and  all  the  other  officers  repeated 
the  word,  with  deeply  surcharged  feelings,  "Charge!"  Poor 
men  of  the  misguided  South  !  It  was  all  over  in  one  terrible 
minute  of  time,  and  the  story  is  soon  told.  Thirty-three  of 
those  men  who,  a  moment  before,  were  advancing  so  confi- 
dently, lay  dead  at  our  feet!  Fully  as  many  more  were  too 
badlv  wounded  to  be  able  to  move  without  assistance;  thirty- 
five  others,  including  the  colonel,  were  in  our  hands  as  prison- 
ers :  while  the  balance  simply  turned  and  ran  so  promptly  and 
swiftly  that  we  were  not  able  to  get  them.  Many  of  them 
must  have  thrown  down  their  guns  to  facilitate  their  flight, 
as  the  ground  was  covered  with  them. 

As  a  further  evidence  and  trophy  of  victory  the  Twenty- 
seventh  captured  the  flag  of  the  advancing  rebel  column.  It 
reposes  at  the  date  of  this  writing  in  the  flag  room  of  the 
State  Capitol,  at  Indianapolis.     The  members  of  the  regiment 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  47B 

and  their  friends  occasionally  go  there  and  take  a  look  at  it, 
merely  to  recall  those  old  days. 

The  battle,  however,  was  not  over.  Those  of  the  enemy 
who  escaped  with  arms,  on  reaching  their  breastworks  and 
rinding  that  they  were  not  pursued,  faced  around  and  opened 
fire  upon  us.  Though  weak  at  first,  others  must  have  soon 
come  to  their  aid.  It  was  not  long  until  the  fire  became  scath- 
ing. Seventy  yards  with  a  rest  is  a  dangerous  range.  Colo- 
nel Colgrove  gave  the  order  to  lie  down,  and  forthwith  we 
hugged  the  earth  passionately,  endeavoring  meantime  to 
return  the  fire.  But  the  convexity  of  the  bluff  in  front  of  us, 
while  it  aff"orded  us  some  protection,  at  thesame  time  hindered 
us  in  seeing  our  foes.  We  were  also  exposed  to  a  flank  fire, 
-o  that  our  situation  soon  became  critical. 

At  this  juncture  the  Colonel,  upon  the  suggestion  of  the 
Major  and  other  ofticers,  gave  the  order  to  return  to  our  own 
incomplete  breastworks.  The  attention  of  the  men  was  called 
to  the  fact  that  in  passing  up  the  slope,  there  would  be  extra 
exposure,  and  they  were  instructed  to  move  promptly,  with- 
out regard  to  order.  The  movement  was,  therefore,  made 
with  slight  loss. 

Following  this  return  to  our  first  position,  a  second  rebel 
line,  consisting  apparently  of  two  regiments,  advanced  from 
the  works  rather  to  our  left.  This  attack  fell  upon  the  Second 
Massachusetts,  as  well  as  ourselves.  It  came  with  ardor  and 
was  maintained  with  persistence.  Still,  it  did  not  stand  long, 
under  the  combined  fire  of  our  two  regiments.  Being  re- 
peated a  second  time,  somewhat  more  to  our  left,  our  two 
regiments  swung  out  in  counter-charge.  This  is  the  phase  of 
of  the  battle  to  which  Adjutant  Bryant  refers  when  he  says, 
"The  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  and  Second  Massachusetts 
wheeled  to  the  right  (left)  and  opened  fire  on  the  flank  of  the 
advancing  host,  while  tiie  other  regiments  gave  them  \olleys 
in  their  front,"' 

Our  advance  at  this  time  was  to  within  iiftv  yards  of  the 
enemy's  works.  Many  of  our  brigade  have  always  believed 
firmly  that  their  line  might  have  been  driven,  if  not  routed,  at 
this  time.  General  \Villiams  seems  to  intimate  as  much  in 
his  report.  He  says,  "  I  made  no  efl'ort  to  pursue,  as  my 
orders  were  to  cover  and  protect  the  left,  and  I  was  ignorant 
of  the  condition  of  aflairs  witii  the  assaulting  column  on  the 
right." 


474 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


During  the  entire  engagement,  even  after  the  infantry 
fire  had  practically  ceased,  we  were  exposed  to  an  annoying 
fire  of  artillery.  After  we  had  returned  finally  to  our  breast- 
works one  of  our  good  soldiers,  Barney  Cullen — a  real  char- 
acter among  us — was  killed  by  a  shell.  The  rebel  artillery 
on  the  higher  ground  to  our  right,  known  at  the  time  as  "The 
fort  "'  was  captured,  or  practically  so,  by  a  part  of  the  Twen- 
tieth Corps.  Its  capture  figured  somewhat,  in  more  recent 
years,  in  a  presidential  election.  The  capture  was  eftected 
by  the   brigade  commanded  by  Colonel  (as  it  was    then)  Ben- 


First   Lt.  George  T.  Ciiatix,         Capt.  J.  W.  Wilcoxex, 
Company  I.  Company  A. 

(Mortally  wounded  at  Resaca.) 

jamin  Harrison.      Another  rebel   battery  oft"  to   our    left,  was 
more  of  an  annoyance  to  our  line  than  the  one  captured. 

The  rebel  troops  in  front  of  the  Twentieth  Corps  at  Res- 
aca belonged  to  Stewart's  division  of  Hood's  corps.  The 
claim  is  made  by  writers  on  that  side  that  their  assault  failed 
because,  through  a  misunderstanding,  Stewart  undertook  to  do 
alone  what  his  and  Stevenson's  division  were  to  do  jointly. 
The  claim  is  that  these  two  divisions  were  ordered  to  attack 
the  Union  line  at  this  point,  this  afternoon,  and  arrangements 
had  been  made  to  that  effect.  But  just  before  the  attack  was 
made  General  [ohnston,  the   rebel   commander,  learned  of  the 


TWEN'IV-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  475 

crossing  at  Lay's  ferry,  of  a  part  of  Sherman's  army,  and 
decided  not  to  make  the  projected  attack.  His  orders  to  that 
effect  reached  Stevenson  in  time  to  keep  him  out  of  the  tight, 
though  they  failed  to  reach  Stewart  in  time  to  prevent  him 
from  bringing  it  on. 

In  view  of  the  facts  as  we  saw  them,  the  above  statements 
seem  very  strange.  The  engagement  along  our  front  continued 
for  at  least  an  hour  and  a  half.  During  all  of  this  time  the 
enemy  was  acting  upon  the  offensive.  Though  not  resolute 
or  determined  to  a  marked  degree,  he  still  manifested  some 
spirit  and  persistence.  If  the  battle  was  brought  on  under  a 
misapprehension,  that  it  should  be  continued  as  a  losing  fight 
for  so  long,  or  that  it  should  require  so  much  time  for  those  in 
control  to  come  to  an  understanding  amongthemselves,  seems 
mysterious.  Whatever  may  be  the  facts,  however,  on  this 
point,  it  was  certainly  fortunate  for  them  that  other  troops 
were  not  put  in.  To  have  doubled  the  force  against  Williams' 
division,  or  to  have  doubled  the  enthusiasm  back  of  the  assault, 
would  only  have  doubled  the  loss  sustained,  and  the  disap- 
pointment of  defeat.  The  assault  as  it  was,  was  so  very  inef- 
fectual, so  very  far  from  the  least  sign  of  success,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  conjecture  what  might  have  rendered  it  other- 
wise. Not  over  half  of  Williams'  division  took  any  part  in  the 
battle,  and  those  that  did  take  part  were  only  getting  fairly  at 
it  when  the  battle  was  over. 

The  rebel  force  which  first  attempted  to  assault  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Twenty-seventh  was  a  consolidation  of  the  Thirty- 
sixth  and  Thirty-eighth  Alabama  Regiments.  Colonel  Lank- 
ford,  the  officer  captured,  had  been  the  colonel  of  the  latter, 
but  the  two  organizations  were  at  this  time  under  his  com- 
mand. Colonel  Colgrove  met  this  gentleman  shortly  after  the 
war.  He  was  very  friendly  and  jokingly  accused  the  Colonel 
of  playing  him  a  "  Yankee  trick,"  at  Resaca.  Colonel  Col- 
grove did  not  deny  the  charge,  but  pleaded  that  "  anything  is 
fair  in  love  and  war."' 

The  circumstances  attending  Colonel  Lankford's  capture 
are  still  distinctly  remembered  by  many  of  the  Twenty-seventh. 
He  was  a  short,  stout-built  man,  and  when  taken,  was  sweaty, 
i-ed  in  the  face  and  puffing  like  a  wood  chopper.  Of  course 
he  could  not  be  otherwise  than  greatly  crestfallen  over  the  way 
matters  had  turned.  He  came  very  near  losing  his  life, 
partly   through    a    misapprehension.      It    happened,  naturally. 


476  HISTORY    OF    THE 

that  the  first  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh  to  reach  him 
were  enlisted  men.  They  did  not  think  of  the  point  of  honor 
involved  in  a  person  surrendering  to  one  of  his  own  class  ; 
while  it  seemed  that  Colonel  Lankford  was  quite  strenuous 
about  it.  Before  he  could  make  himself  understood  more  than 
one  soldier  would  have  shot  him,  if  others  had  not  prevented 
them.  They  thought  he  was  too  slow  in  giving  up  his  sword. 
When  it  was  ascertained  what  his  contention  was,  it  required 
but  a  moment  for  one  of  our  commissioned  officers  to  step 
forward  and  receive  the  sword. 

To  Elijah  White,  of  Company  D,  belongs  the  honor  of 
first  laying  hands  on  the  rebel  colors.  In  a  case  like  this, 
where  a  line  of  men  dashes  forward  in  a  body,  there  is  no 
great  propriety  in  giving  the  credit  of  special  captures  to  any 
one  person.  \Vith  most  of  the  men,  under  such  circumstances, 
the  fact  that  they  remain  dutifully  in  their  places,  and  perform 
well  the  parts  assigned  them,  stands  in  the  way  of  their 
making  the  capture.  Not  only  so,  but,  in  doing  this,  they 
supply  the  force,  they  make  tlie  impression  upon  the  enemy, 
which  alone  renders  the  capture  possible.  In  other  words,  it 
is  the  command,  the  organized  body  of  men,  that  really  makes 
the  capture.  But,  as  far  as  any  one  man  is  entitled  to  the 
credit  of  capturing  this  rebel  flag,  it  unquestionably  belongs 
to  White.  The  writer  has  no  personal  interest  in  the  matter, 
and  his  rule  has  been  not  to  attempt  to  settle  the  disputes  of 
the  men  of  the  regiment.  This  seems  to  be  entirely  one-sided, 
however.  Though  the  label  upon  this  flag  in  the  State  House 
divides  the  honor  between  White  and  another,  the  prevalent 
sentiment  of  the  men  who  were  present  is  certainly  decidedly 
against  it. 

Colonel  Colgrove  wrote  to  the  adjutant-general  of  Indiana 
a  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Resaca,  that  this  flag  had 
inscribed  upon  it  the  name  of  the  regiment,  namely,  the 
Thirty-eighth  Alabama,  and  the  following  battles  :  Chicka- 
mauga.  Lookout  Mountain,  Missionary  Ridge  and  Tunnel 
Hill. 

No  ofticial  reports  were  made  on  this  Atlanta  campaign 
until  after  its  close  ;  then  all  of  the  battles,  and  other  matters 
of  interest,  were  reported  at  onetime.  The  manifest  improve- 
ment in  reports  as  the  war  progressed  has  been  previously 
referred  to.  It  is  pleasant,  on  that  account,  to  read  these 
reports.      Almost  without  exception,  they  evince  a  thoughtful 


TWENTV-SEVEN'TII     INDIANA.  477 

care  not  to  say  anything  but  the  exact  truth  about  their  own 
commands  or  others  ;  and  quite  as  much  concern  is  evident 
to  be  just  and  courteous  towards  others  and  to  say  a  good 
word  about  them,  when  it  comes  in  the  way,  as  to  do  the 
same  for  themselves  or  their  own  commands.  Some  of  these 
reports  constitute  quite  satisfactory  histories,  in  outline,  of 
the  campaign. 

Colonel  Colgrove  was  absent  from  the  Twenty-seventh 
when  the  reports  were  called  for,  on  account  of  his  wound  at 
Peach  Tree  Creek.  The  duty  of  reporting  for  our  regiment  de- 
volved, therefore,  upon  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fesler.  His  own 
personal  modesty  is  exemplified  in  the  brevity  of  his  report. 
With  respect  to  Resaca  he  says  :  "  Sunday,  May  15,  advanced, 
by  General  Ruger's  orders,  driving  the  enemy's  pickets,  until 
within  two  hundred  yards  of  his  ritie-pits.  We  were  then 
halted  in  line  of  battle,  with  skirmishers  deployed  in  front, 
about  seventy-five  yards.  About  four  o'clock  the  Thirty- 
eighth  Alabama  Regiment  made  a  charge  on  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  which  was  handsomely  repulsed,  with  a  loss  of  their 
colors,  thirty-five  prisoners,  including  Colonel  Lankford, 
commanding  the  regiment,  and  thirty-three  killed." 

General  Ruger  gives  a  very  accurate  description  of  the 
ground  occupied  by  his  brigade,  one  that  would  enable  a 
person  to  locate  it  at  any  time.  Of  the  Twenty-seventh  he 
speaks  as  follows  :  "  On  the  right,  the  Twenty-seventh 
Indiana  Volunteers  captured  the  flag  and  commander  of  the 
Thirty-eighth  Alabama,  and  thirty  odd  prisoners." 

General  Williams  speaks  in  the  same  strain.  He  says  : 
"  The  colors  and  colonel,  with  other  officers  and  men,  of  the 
Thirty-eighth  Alabama,  were  captured  by  the  Twenty-seventh 
Indiana  Volunteers,  Colonel  Colgrove,  of  Ruger's  brigade, 
and  the  division  took  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
prisoners." 

The  battle  of  Resaca  was  fought  on  Sunday,  May  15. 
On  Sunday,  May  25,  1862,  the  Twenty-seventh  was  in  the 
battje  of  Winchester.  On  Sunday,  May  8,  1868,  it  was  in 
the  battle  of  Chancellorsville.  Ten  days  after  this  battle,  on 
May  25,  it  was  in  the  battle  of  New  Hope  Church.  Thus 
no  May  passed,  during  its  history,  without  a  battle,  and 
during  one  May  it  had  two  battles.  It  had  four  battles  in 
the  month  of  May,  three  of  them  being  on  Sunday. 

The  casualities  at  Resaca  were  not  equal  to  what  we  l.ad 


478  IIISTOUY    OF    THE 

been  accustomed  to,  yet  the  evidences  were  not  wanting  that, 
in  phices,  the  enemy  suffered  ver}-  severely.  The  effective- 
ness of  the  tire  of  the  Twenty-seventh  must  have  been  unusual. 
The  single  volley  fired  into  the  ranks  of  the  Alabamians  was 
one  to  remember.  Thirty-three  killed  dead,  in  addition  to 
the  wounded,  by  the  discharge  of  less  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty  muskets,  is  exceptional  in  warfare.  A  conservative 
officer  of  the  Twenty-seventli ,  who  went  over  the  field  with 
a  party  of  others,  reports  that  it  was  the  observation  of  all 
that  the  rebel  dead  covered  the  ground  more  thickly  in  front 
of  our  position  than  at  any  other  point,  though  their  loss  was 
evidently  in  excess  of  the  Union  loss  at  all  points. 

The  so-called  "fort  ''  or  battery,  captured  by  Harrison's 
brigade,  is  reported  by  the  same  officer  as  being  a  smull  nat- 
ural sink,  or  basin,  around  which  the  soil  had  been  somewhat 
rudely  heaped  up,  so  as  to  afford  some  protection  to  those 
inside.  It  had  been  the  center  of  a  tremendous  fire.  The 
ground  was  dug  into  holes,  scarred  and  pulverized,  every 
bush  and  switch  was  cut  into  shreds,  and  an  ofiicer  and  seven- 
teen men  were  lying  dead,  aside  of  the  captured  guns.  These 
last  had  the  appearance  of  having  been  killed  mostly  by 
artillery. 

The  enemy  evidently  abandoned  this  part  of  the  field  of 
Resaca  in  considerable  precipitation.  Many  things  indicated 
this.  At  one  point  forty-five  boxes  of  musket  cartridges,  cal- 
ibre 58,  were  left  snugly  stacked  up,  in  perfect  condition.  At 
another  point  were  twentv  boxes  of  artillery  ammunition, 
calibre  12  pounds.  But  the  wildest  and  most  inexcusable 
haste  was  shown  in  their  heartless  abandonment  of  their 
wounded.  These  they  had  largely  deserted,  leaving  them  in 
their  helpless  suffering.  An  extreme  case  was  that  of  a  rebel 
major,  found  upon  the  amputating  table,  some  distance  back 
of  the  battlefield.  The  surgeons  had  doubtless  abandoned 
him  while  in  the  very  act  of  amputating  his  leg.  When  the 
advance  of  our  brigade  came  up  the  poor  man  was  just  com- 
ing out  from  the  influence  of  the  anaesthetics,  and  begged  pit- 
eously  for  some  one  to  shoot  him.  He  wanted  to  die,  rather 
than  to  suffer  longer. 

The  amputating  table  was  a  temporary  contrivance, 
arranged  under  an  old  out-shed,  near  a  poor  log  dwelling- 
house.     Close  by  the  table  was  a  large  pile  of  arms   and  legs, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  479 

^vhich  had  been  cut  from  other  victims.  All  were  entirely 
deserted!      Not  a  surgeon  or  nurse  about.      Chivalry! 

Color  ."^ergt.  Peter  Ragle  was  wounded  through  the 
shoulder  in  the  battle  of  Resaca,  and  Corporal  Stephenson,  of 
the  Color  (juard,  was  wounded  by  the  same  bullet.  Corporal 
John  H.  Langford,  of  Company  K,  carried  the  state  ilag  in 
this  battle.  He  passed  through  here  unhurt,  but  had  been 
wounded  at  Chancellorsville  and  was  wounded  again  at  New- 
Hope   Church. 

It  is  pleasant  to  recall  the  relation  of  mutual  confidence,  as 
well  as  esteem,  evinced  by  all  of  the  regiments  of  the  brigade 
at  Resaca  and  subsequently,  as  indeed  it  is  to  note  the  evident 
reasons  for  it.  The  three  newer  regiments  took  their  places 
here,  if  they  had  not  done  so  before,  with  the  three  older  reg- 
iments, as  real  veterans.  The  Thirteenth  New  Jersey,  One 
Hundred  and  Seventh  and  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  New- 
York,  w-ere  the  three  newer  regiments  referred  to.  The  One 
Hundred  and  Seventh  New  York  was  in  support  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  during  most  of  the  engagement.  Every  man 
among  them  seemed  to  be  desperately  in  earnest,  and  not  only 
ready  but  anxious  to  take  an  active   part  in  the  w^ork  in  hand. 

All  battles  had  their  amusinti;,  laughable  incidents.  It  was  one  of 
the  blessings  of  the  situation  that  the  men  would  remember  them  after 
the  battle  was  over,  and  recount  them  to  each  other.  It  enabled  them  to 
dwell  less  upon  those  phases  of  war  that  are  naturally  so  shocking. 
Resaca  had  its  share  of  these  incidents  and  some  of  them  remam  as  tradi- 
tions among  the  men  to  the  present  time. 

A  ludicrous  circumstance  occurred  on  the  return  from  the  advanced 
position,  where  the  Twenty-seventh  met  the  Alabama  men.  Without 
knowing  it,  two  men  of  different  companies  had  become  hitched  together. 
The  knapsack  strap  of  one  was  looped  over  the  end  of  the  other's  ramrod. 
The  fact  was  only  revealed  to  them  when,  going  at  a  double-quick,  under 
fire,  they  undertook  to  pass  on  different  sides  of  the  same  tree.  Here 
they  were  brought  up  short.  But  instead  of  stopping  and  unhooking 
themselves,  they  tried,  rather,  to  break  themselves  apart.  So  there  they 
were,  see-sawing  like  an  untrained  team  trying  to  start  a  heavy  load.  All 
the  other  men  had  passed  them  and  the  rebel  bullets  were  barking  the 
tree,  cutting  the  limbs  and  throwing  up  the  dirt.  At  length  the  true 
state  of  the  case  seemed  to  have  dawned  upon  them  and  they  stopped  and 
calmly  disengaged  themselves.     Fortunately,  neither  of  them  was  hit. 

Another  incident  equally  amusing  in  some  of  its  aspects,  had  other 
features  more  serious.  A  man  in  one  of  the  companies,  in  some  way,  lost 
the  hammer  off  of  his  musket,  about  the  time  the  action  was  beginning. 
He  therefore  went  to  the  Colonel  and  in  something  of  a  whining  tone,  said, 
"Colonel,  what  shall  1  do,  I  have  lost  the  cock  off  of  my  gun?"  The  Colonel 
said,  "  1  )--a  It,   come  on,  you   can   soon   get  anotlier  one."     Tlie  Colonel 


480  HISTORY    OF    THE 

meant,  of  course,  that  it  would  not  be  long,  probably,  until  some  one  would 
get  hurt  and  the  man  could  then  have  his  gun.  All  the  men  laughed  and 
might  have  forgotten  the  circumstance  except  for  what  followed. 

When  the  Twenty-seventh  swept  forward  on  its  charge,  a  rebel  was 
overtaken,  who  at  once  surrendered.  No  one  took  him  to  the  rear,  how- 
ever, and,' in  the  melee  which  followed,  he  was  forgotten.  When  the 
Twenty-seventh  was  again  returning  to  its  own  breastworks,  in  such 
haste,  who  should  they  pass  but  this  rebel.  .Some  of  them  had  gone  by 
him  and  he  must  have  thought  all  had  done  so.  Anyway,  true  to  his 
"  Southern  chivalry,"  he  was  in  the  act  of  shooting  one  of  our  soldiers  who 
had  already  passed  him. 

But  the  man  with  the  hammerless  musket  appeared  ujwn  the  scene 
again.  Instead  of  picking  up  another  musket  he  was  using  the  detached 
handle  of  a  frying  pan  in  place  of  the  hammer.  When  he  saw  what  the 
rebel  was  about  to  do,  he  dexterously  brought  his  musket  around  and 
whack!  he  took  the  cap,  with  the  frying-pan  handle.  The  rebel,  of  course, 
went  down.  It  was  an  illustration  of  how  much  depends,  not  only  upon 
the  gun,  but  the  man  behind  it. 

It  was  here  at  Resaca  also  that  Captain  Balsley's  Irishman,  Dan, 
got  the  best  of  the  provost  guards.  On  the  way,  somewhere,  when  coming 
from  the  Eastern  army,  Captain  Balsley  had  recruited  a  fresh  arrival, 
from  over  the  briny  deep.  The  older  members  of  the  company  had  tor- 
mented the  raw  recruit  not  a  little  by  telling  him,  among  other  things,  that 
it  was  a  very  dreadful  thing  to  go  into  a  battle,  and  that  he  would  be  sure  to 
get  panicked  in  the  first  one  and  run  away.  This  probably  stimulated 
him  to  do  his  best  and  show  them  a  thing  or  two.  In  the  counter-assault 
upon  the  Alabamians,  Dan  was, therefore,  in  the  front  rank.  Spying  a 
rebel  behind  a  tree,  he  rushed  up  and  seized  hold  of  him.  With  vigorous 
jerks  and  kicks  and  many  loud  demonstrations  of  triumph  and  satisfac- 
tion, he  brought  him  to  the  Captain.  The  Captain,  in  turn,  ordered  Dan 
to  take  his  prisoner  to  the  rear,  which  he  proceeded  to  do  with  much  pride 
and  pomp. 

Back  some  distance  Dan  encountered  the  provost  guard,  with  a  line 
duly  established,  both  to  take  care  of  prisoners  and  to  prevent  able- 
bodied  soldiers  from  running  out  of  the  fight.  "  Halt,  there!"  they  said 
to  Dan.  "  Halt  the  divil,"  said  Dan.  "Captain  Balsley  he  tould  me  to 
lak  this  mon  to  the  rear,  so  he  did."  But  they  persisted.  "  Halt!  We'll 
take  care  of  the  prisoner;  just  leave  him  with  us."  "  Och!  to  hell  wid  yes, 
ye  durty  spalpeens,"  roared  Dan.  But,  as  if  willing  to  oblige  them  all  he 
could,  waving  his  hand  back  in  the  direction  from  which  he  had  come, 
and  where  the  fighting  was  still  in  progress,  he  said,  inhisblandest  tones, 
"  There's  plenty  ov  'em  right  over  there.  If  ye's  want  wun,  jist  step  over 
and  get  wun  for  yer'self." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


NEW  HOPE  CHURCH. 

The  night  of  May  15,  following  the  battle  of  Resaca, 
was  rainy  and  cold  for  the  season.  Owing  to  all  the  condi- 
tions, therefore,  it  was  cheerless,  if  not  gloomy.  The  loss  in 
the  Twenty-seventh,  though  more  than  half  the  aggregate 
loss  of  the  brigade,  was  so  much  less  than  we  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  that,  in  a  sense,  we  congratulated  ourselves  on  get- 
ting off  so  light.  Still,  soldiers  had  sensibilities  as  well  as 
other  people,  and  even  a  small  loss  at  this  time  cut  deep. 
De  Qiiincy's  celebrated  description  of  the  broken  string  and 
the  costly  pearls  dropping,  one  by  one.  into  the  sea,  does  not 
present  a  situation  anything  like  as  pathetic  as  the  ever- 
recurring,  inexorable  losses  of  a  company  or  regiment.  What 
are  pearls,  even  the  most  costly  of  them,  compared  with 
trained,  courageous,  devoted  soldiers,  who  have  served  so  long 
and  who  so  richly  deserve  to  live  and  enjoy  some  of  the 
rewards  of  their  sacrifices? 

All  was  quiet  along  our  front  through  the  night,  though 
there  was  some  savage  picket  firing  farther  to  our  right. 
When  morning  came  we  were  not  surprised  to  find  the  enemy 
gone.  Our  pickets  had  heard  and  reported  things  during  the 
night  that  indicated  as  much.  Neither  \vas  there  a  ques- 
tion in  the  mind  of  any  one  about  our  army  pursuing. 

Almost  as  much  time  was  required  for  Sherman's  army 
to  move  out  of  its  hampered  position  around  Resaca  as  was 
required  in  getting  into  it.  The  whole  of  it  was  forced  into 
the  few  narrow,  crooked  and  poorly  improved  roads.  For 
that  reason  the  Twentieth  Corps  was  obliged  to  swing  around 
considerably  eastward.  The  Twenty-seventh  crossed  the  Con- 
nessauga  at  Green's  Ferry,  near  where  we  had  been  engaged. 
and  marched  that  day  to  the  vicinity  of  Bryant's  Ford,  on 
the  Coosawatta.  The  next  day  we  crossed  the  Coosawatta  in 
the  rain  and  made  our  way  laboriously  southward.  In  the 
afternoon  the  rain  ceased,  but  our  progress  was  still  slow  and 
wearisome.      We  halted  for  the  night  three  or  four  miles  east 

31 


482  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ward  of  Calhoun.  This  evening,  at  the  end  of  two  days  of 
tedious  marching,  we  were  not  twenty  miles,  in  a  straight 
line,  from  our  starting  point.  The  night  was  pleasant,  with 
a  bright  moon,  and  after  supper  our  brigade  band  gave  us 
some  of  their  cheering  music.  The  spirits  of  all  were  quick- 
ened very  perceptibly. 

May  18,  the  camp  was  aroused  at  3  a.  m.,  but  the  march 
was  not  resumed  until  after  9  a.  m.  After  starting  the 
march  was  again  delayed  for  want  of  road  room.  Heat  and 
dust  were  also  prominently  in  evidence.  It  is  understood 
now  that  Johnston  had  decided  to  assail  a  part  of  Sherman's 
armv  to-day.  He  was  advised  of  its  scattered  condition  and 
was  aware  also,  of  course,  of  the  difficulties  in  the  w^ay  of  its 
concentration.  He  hoped,  therefore,  to  gain  some  advantage 
from  these  things.  But  one  of  his  division  commanders, 
Hardee,  was  so  slow  in  his  movements  that  nothing  was 
done.      Sherman    divined    Johnston's    purpose,    however,  and 

he  latter  would  have  found  the  Union  army  not  wholly 
unprepared  for  him.  These  facts  explain  why  such  urgent 
efforts  were  observable  among  us  to  push  forward.  Still,  the 
roads  over  which  we  passed  were  so  very  poorly  adapted  to 
the  requirements  of  an  army  that,  with  all  our  exertion  and 
by  marching  until  late  at  night,  we  only  made  twent}^  miles. 
On  the  19th,  for  some  reason,  we  did  not  move  until 
afternoon.  When  we  did  start  we  soon  found  that  the  enemy 
was  disposed  to  resent  our  further  advance,  and  our  column 
was  thrown  into  battle  formation.  Our  division  was  to  the 
left  of  the  road  upon  which  we  were  approaching  Cassville. 
With  skirmishers  out,  and  sometimes  engaged,  we  moved 
through  alternating  timber  and  brush  and  plowed  fields  up  to 
the  edge  of  the  town.  At  one  point  the  Twenty-seventh  was 
halted  near  a  farmhouse,  on  elevated  ground.  A  section  or 
so  of  Battery  ]M,  First  New  York  Artillery,  w^^s  unlimbered 
near  the  house,  perhaps  in  the  yard,  and  was  firing  slowly 
upon  the  enemy.  Sitting  in  a  chair  near  the  guns  was  "  Pap  " 
Williams,  coolly  giving  orders  to  the  gunners,  between  puffs 
at  his  pipe,  A  diary  says  :  "  Colonel  Colgrove  was  put  under 
arrest  to-day  for  halting  the  column,"'  No  further  facts  have 
developed  concerning  this  circumstance,  and  there  could  have 
been  nothing  serious  about  it,  if  any  of  it  was  true.  The 
harvest  moon  was  largely  obscured  that  night  bv  fog,  but  the 


TWENTY-SEVKXTir     INDIANA.  483 

T\vent3'-seventh  put  in  the  most  of  the  night  in  building 
breastworks.      Picket  firing  continued  a  good  part  of  the  time. 

It  is  also  a  part  of  history  now  that  General  Johnston 
had  decided  to  offer  battle  here  at  Cassville.  He  believed 
that  in  the  topography  of  the  country  barely  out  of  the  town, 
on  the  south,  he  recognized  an  ideal  defensive  battlefield. 
But  later  he  understood  two,  out  of  three,  of  his  corps  com- 
manders to  be  lukewarm  about  the  advisability  of  it  ;  so  he 
abandoned  the  plan  and  moved  on. 

The  next  day,  May  20,  the  Union  army  advanced  into 
the  town  and  took  possession.  This  seems  to  have  been  done 
in  a  more  literal  sense  than  was  often  the  case.  Being  exactly 
between  the  lines,  while  the  two  opposing  armies  were  drawn 
up  in  hostile  array,  most  of  the  people  of  the  place  had  aban- 
doned their  homes  in  great  haste,  without  attempting  to  carry 
much  with  them,  or  to  put  anything  away.  It  was  said  that 
the  rebel  commander  had  urged,  and  almost  compelled,  them 
to  do  this.  When,  therefore,  our  army  entered  in  the  early 
morning,  everything  was  at  their  disposal.  There  are  state- 
ments made  about  soldiers  feasting  in  kitchens  and  cellars,  of 
revelries  in  parlors  and  drawing-rooms,  of  performances  on 
pianos  and  other  musical  instruments,  and  of  unusual  and 
extravagant  uses  to  which  various  articles  of  luxury  and  art 
were  devoted  here,  that  were  not  often  true  even  in  those 
unliappy  years.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  a  great  prepon- 
derance of  Union  soldiers  did  not  approve  of  such  things, 
much  less  do  them.  Few  persons  have  stopped  to  consider 
what  a  small  amount  of  private  property  was  wantonly  de- 
stroyed during  the  war,  considering  all  the  facts.  The  army 
was  very  large,  the  scope  of  country  invaded  was  immense, 
the  war  lasted  four  years,  there  was  much  wealth  and  many 
articles  of  value  in  the  South,  and  more  than  all  else,  the 
people  were  unusually  bitter,  spiteful  and  nagging  with  Union 
soldiers ;  and  seldom  kept  faith  with  tliem  in  any  shape  or 
manner.  The  property  that  was  taken  from  motives  of 
plunder  or  permanent  personal  gain  was  infinitely  less.  In 
all  of  the  years  of  his  service  the  writer  did  not  know  of  a 
dollar's  worth  being  taken  from  that  motive. 

For  three  days  our  part  of  the  army  rested  quietly  at 
Cassville.  That  is,  the  fighting  contingent  rested.  Such 
days  were  always  notably  busy  ones  for  those  who  had  aii}-- 
thing  to  do  with  supplying  the  necessities  of  the   men.      This 


484  HISTORY    OF    THE 

suspension  of  hostilities  was  largely  ordered  so  that  shortages 
and  losses  of  all  kinds  might  be  made  up.  Our  commissaries 
received  orders  here  to  provide  the  troops  with  twenty 
days'  rations  of  everything  except  meat.  That  would  mean 
immense  activity  with  them  and  in  the  the  transportation 
depariment.  The  camp  of  the  Twenty-seventh  here  was 
near  a  large  flowing  spring  of  cool,  clear  water,  which  added 
much  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  rest. 

On  the  last  day  of  our  stay  at  this  point  the  non-veterans 
of  the  Second  Massachusetts,  having  been  mustered  out, 
started  for  their  far-away  homes.  Few  would  have  predicted, 
three  years  before,  when  they  enlisted,  that  they  would  not 
only  be  needed  the  full  period  of  their  enlistment,  but  that 
their  time  would  expire  while  serving  with  an  army  in  the 
midst  of  an  arduous  campaign  in  northern  Georgia.  The 
writer  cannot  speak  of  these  men  as  individuals;  but  as  a 
class,  they  had  richly  earned  exemption  from  farther  sac- 
rifices. 

On  the  28d  we  were  up  at  2  :80  a.  m.  and  at  4  o'clock 
moved  out  with  quick  steps  and  earnest  purposes  in  further 
pursuit  of  the  enemy.  Being  assigned  the  advance,  our 
brigade  marched  past  the  troops  of  the  Twenty-third  Corps 
and  crossed  the  Etowa  river  on  a  pontoon  bridge,  previously 
laid  by  the  engineers.  We  halted  near  Euharlie,  in  the 
middle  of  the  atternoon.  The  Etowa  river  is  called  '•  High 
tower"  by  the  uneducated  people  living  along  it, — a  corrup- 
tion of  the  real  name. 

The  country  passed  over  to-day  was  the  best  we  saw  in 
Georgia.  The  farms  along  the  Etowa  river  are  fine.  There 
was  no  need  of  any  meat  ration  being  issued.  The  men  sup- 
plied themselves  bountifully  with  fresh  pork.  The  hogs  were 
not  such  as  John  McElroy's  chum  in  Anderson vi lie  described 
the  Georgia  hog  to  be,  namely  :  "  A  piece  of  skin  with  hair 
on  both  sides."  On  the  contrary,  these  hogs  were  "  Fat  and 
well-favored.'' 

No  army  ever  swept  forward  with  a  grander,  more  im- 
posing impetus  than  did  Sherman's  army  to-day.  Tliose  who 
saw  it,  filling  all  the  roads,  its  ranks  compact  and  orderly,  all 
the  men  spirited  and  confident,  will  have  no  difi^iculty  in 
understanding  the  old,  old  statement,  "  Terrible  as  an  army 
with  banners." 

On    the  24th,  we    had  another   day  of  prolonged,  slavish 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  485 

marching.  Most  of  it  was  in  the  rain,  with  very  sultry  inter- 
vals, ending  with  a  hard  rain  in  the  evening.  Our  corps 
seemed  to  be  going  through  a  country  where  a  very  limited 
number  of  people  had  ever  wanted  to  go  before.  Though  the 
roads  leading  in  other  directions  were  improved  somewhat, 
and  had  the  appearance  of  having  been  traveled,  those  leading 
in  the  direction  we  were  moving  were  mere  cowpaths,  travers- 
ing back  districts.  Few  improvements  of  any  kind  were  vis- 
ible and  the  land  was  largely  broken  and  barren.  The  scant 
inhabitants  of  the  country  had  every  appearance  of  being  in 
extreme  poverty. 

An  examination  of  the  map  will  show  why  Sherman  was 
thus  moving  his  army  out,  away  from  the  railroad,  and  awav 
from  the  more  traveled  wagon  roads.  With  Kingston  as  a 
base  he  was  cutting  across  lots  and  flanking  around  the  for- 
midable positions  of  his  adversary  at  Allatoona  Pass,  and  the 
mountains  adjacent.  We  camped  that  night  at  Burnt  Hick- 
ory. The  men  of  Williams'  division  might  have  claimed  that 
evening  the  right  to  vote  in  Georgia,  hold  oftice,  sit  on  juries, 
etc.,  with  much  show  of  reason  to  support  the  claim.  Each 
and  every  one  of  them  had  enough  Georgia  clay  and  mud 
sticking  to  him  to  constitute  him  a  genuine  freeholder. 

The  25th  was  another  hot  morning,  and  was  destined  to 
be  hot  in  another  sense  before  night.  We  started  rather  late. 
After  going  a  short  distance  our  division  div^erged  to  the 
right,  taking  the  road  to  Dallas.  The  other  two  divisions  of 
the  Twentieth  Corps  kept  on  the  road  leading  by  New  Hope 
Church.  Our  division  found  the  bridge  over  Pumpkin  Vine 
creek  partially  destroyed  and  there  was  some  delay  while  it 
was  being  repaired.  We  finally  passed  the  creek,  and  had 
reached  within  two  miles  of  Dallas,  where  we  stopped  for 
dinner.  Here  urgent  orders  came  to  return  and  join  the  other 
two  divisions,  over  on  the  other  road.  They  had  run  into  the 
enemy.  We  hastily  retraced  our  steps  as  far  as  Pumpkin 
Vine  creek,  then  moved  down  its  north  bank  to  the  road  we 
were  seeking.  The  impression  was  more  or  less  current  at 
the  time  that  we  had  taken  the  wrong  road  and  were,  there- 
fore, obliged  to  make  this  movement,  but   that  was  an  error. 

This  road,  upon  which  the  Second  and  Third  Divisions 
had  been  marching,  is  one  leading  from  the  vicinity  of  Burnt 
Hickory,  or  Huntsville,  in  something  of  a  direct  course,  to 
Marietta.      At  the  crossing  of  this  road  with  the  one  leading 


486  HISTORY  OF  the 

from  Ackvvorth,  on  the  railroad,  to  Dallas,  is  Xe\v  Hope 
Church.  The  country  in  that  region  is  mostly  very  broken, 
and  at  this  period  was  almost  wholly  covered  with  brush  and 
timber.  At  this  point  Geary's  division,  which  was  in  the 
lead,  had  found  the  way  blockaded  by  rebels.  After  a  vigor- 
ous march  of  some  five  miles,  we  found  the  other  two 
divisions  w^aiting  for  us.  There  had  been  some  fighting  prior 
to  our  arrival,  but  not  as  much  as  it  now  appears  there  should 
have  been. 

This  was  another  instance  in  the  war  where  a  slight 
delay  was  fatal.  It  is  now  known  that  the  rebel  army  had 
only  preceded  our  advance  column  at  this  important  crossing 
by  a  little.  While,  therefore,  our  Second  and  Third  Divisions 
were  waiting  for  Williams'  division  to  come  up,  it  was  not 
only  giving  the  enemy  time  to  bring  up  other  troops,  but  also 
to  improvise  the  breastworks,  and  plant  and  protect  the  bat- 
teries, which  wrought  our  repulse.  General  vSherman  says 
this  delay  was  by  request  of  General  Hooker,  who  asked  for 
the  postponement  of  the  attack  until  the  arrival  of  his  First 
Division.  If  there  was  a  compliment  to  the  First  Division 
implied  in  the  fact  that  the  other  two  stalwart  divisions  of  our 
corps  should  wait  by  the  roadside,  inactive,  while  we  were 
hurried  from  a  point  five  miles  away  and  put  in  the  front,  the 
satisfaction  of  it  is  largely  neutralized  by  the  additional  fact 
that  the  golden  opportunity  for  success  was  thus  allowed  to 
pass.  General  Flooker  had  missed  imperishable  fame  for  him- 
self, and  a  victory  for  his  cause  which  could  scarcely  have 
been  less  than  decisive,  ending  the  war  in  a  month,  by  a  few 
hours  delay  at  Chancellorsville — but  the  lesson  was  not 
heeded  here. 

Immediately  following  our  arrival,  our  division  passed  to 
the  front  and  prepared  for  battle.  Ascending  a  high  ridge 
the  division  was  formed  in  three  lines,  on  the  right  of  the 
road,  a  brigade  in  each  line.  The  Third  Brigade  was  in  front, 
the  Second  (our's)  next,  with  the  First  in  the  rear.  Two 
regiments  from  our  brigade  were  not  in  line,  having  been 
assigned  to  other  duties.  The  Second  Massachusetts  was 
guarding  a  bridge  to  the  rear,  and  the  Thirteenth  New  Jersey 
was  half  a  mile  or  so  to  the  right,  protecting  that  flank.  The 
positions  of  the  remaining  regiments  of  the  brigade  in  line 
seem  to  have  been  as  here  stated,  though  there  is  some  diver- 
sity of  testimony.     The  One  Hundred  and  Seventh  New  York 


TWKNTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA,  487 

was  on  the  left,  joining  the  road.  Next  on  their  right  was 
the  Third  Wisconsin,  then  the  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth 
New  York,  and,  histly,  the  Twenty-seventh,  on  the  right  of 
the  brigade.  Colonel  Ketcham,  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fiftieth  New  York,  says  in  his  report  that  his  regiment  occu- 
pied the  right  of  the  brigade,  but  he  also  says  the  Third  Wis- 
consin joined  him  on  the  left,  which  was  true  in  the  above 
^irrangement.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fesler,  of  the  Twentv- 
seventh,  says  our  regiment  was  on  the  extreme  right,  and 
Captain  Williams,  of  Ruber's  staff,  also  gives  the  above,  in 
his  diary,  as  the  order  of  the  regiments. 

Without  delay,  the  three  lines  thus  formed  moved  for- 
ward. The  skirmishers  soon  became  hotly  engaged,  but 
steadily  advanced.  The  ground  the  Twenty-seventh  passed 
over  was  heavily  wooded.  In  many  places  the  undergrowth 
was  very  dense,  reminding  us  of  the  thickets  about  Chancel- 
lorsville.  The  shot  and  shell  from  the  enemy's  batteries 
crashed  through  the  timber,  cutting  off  limbs,  blazing  and 
splitting  the  trees,  like  tremendous  bolts  of  lightning.  The 
skirmishers  were  instructed  to  keep  under  cover  as  much  as 
possible,  following  the  method  prevalent  in  the  West.  They 
dodged,  therefore,  from  tree  to  tree  as  they  pushed  forward, 
imitating  the  warfare  of  Indians.  Several  times  they  cut  of}' 
the  enemy's  skirmishers  in  this  way,  and  a  number  were  cap- 
tured and  sent  to  the  rear. 

When  we  had  gone  about  a  mile,  over  broken  and  undu- 
lating ground,  our  brigade  passed  lines  with  the  Third 
Brigade.  That  is.  they  filed  to  the  rear  by  companies,  while 
we  advanced  as  we  were,  to  take  their  places.  Hence,  the 
old  brigade  was  again  in  the  front  line.  It  seemed  a  little 
curious  that,  where  there  were  so  many  good  soldiers,  tliere 
could  not  be  a  battle  without  matters  working  around  in  that 
way. 

But  there  was  to  be  no  delay.  The  order  was  still  "  For- 
ward." The  resistance  was  increasingly  stubborn  and  deter- 
mined, but  the  line  forged  along.  The  main  line  had  come 
up  with  the  skirmishers,  and  the  two  were  beating  their  wav 
through  the  jungle  together,  with  the  eneni}'  only  a  short 
distance  ahead. 

Suddenl}',  a  most  terrific  fire  of  both  musketry  and  artil- 
lery was  opened  upon  us.  We  were  at  the  foot  of,  or  passing 
up,  a  gentle   slope.     On  the   crest,  barely  a  few  rods  distant. 


488  HISTORY    OF    THE 

was  a  long  parapet  blazing  with  tire  and  death.  The  under- 
growth was  so  dense  that  few,  if  any,  of  us  were  aware  of 
what  we  were  coming  to,  until  the  storm  burst.  It  came 
with  so  little  premonition  on  our  part,  that  it  almost  seemed 
as  if  the  position  had  been  purposely  masked,  and  that  we 
had  been  decoyed  to  our  death.  This  impression  may  have 
prevailed  among  us  to  some  extent  afterwards.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  say  that  such  was  not  the  case.  The  timber 
which,  for  lack  of  time  and  means,  the  enemy  could  not  cut 
away,  had,  until  now,  prevented  them  from  seeing  us,  as  well 
as  us  from  seeing  them. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  conceive  of  a  more  appalling, 
terrifying,  if  not  fatal,  rain  of  lead  and  iron  than  this  one, 
which  our  line  met  at  New  Hope  Church.  The  canister  and 
case  shot  in  particular,  hissed,  swished  and  sung  around  and 
among  us,  barking  the  trees,  glancing  and  bounding  from  one 
to  the  other,  ripping  up  the  ground,  throwing  the  dirt  in  our 
faces  and  rolling  at  our  feet,  until  those  not  hit  by  them  were 
ready  to  conclude  that  they  surely  would  be  hit.  Milton's 
words  were  none  too  strong  to  apply  to  the  situation  : 

"  Fierce  as  ten  furies  and  terrible  as  hell.'' 

Yet  the  boys  only  cheered  the  more  defiantly ,  and,  while  load- 
ing and  firing  with  all  their  might,  gained  ground  to  the 
front.  Just  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight  there  was  a  downpour 
of  rain.  In  the  damp  and  murky  atmosphere  the  smoke  from 
our  muskets,  instead  of  rising  and  disappearing,  settled 
around  us  and  accumulated  in  thick  clouds.  The  woods  in 
which  we  were  immersed  became  wierd  and  spectral.  Eventu- 
ally it  became  almost  a  battle  in  the  dark.  When  we  were 
finally  brought  to  a  standstill  it  was  impossible  to  make  out 
with  any  distinctness  even  the  position  of  the  enemy.  Our 
aim  was  directed  almost  wholly  at  the  flashes  and  reports  of 
their  guns. 

The  contest  must  have  been  prolonged  for  almost,  if  not 
entirely,  an  hour.  At  length  Colonel  Colgrove  decided  that  it 
was  not  possible  to  drive  the  enemy  from  his  position  and  that 
to  continue  the  effort  was  a  needless  sacrifice.  He  therefore 
drew  the  regiment  back  a  short  distance.  A  little  later  we 
were  relieved  by  the  men  of  the  Third  Brigade  and  darkness 
came  on  almost  immediately,  bringing  the  battle  to  a  close. 

This   engagement   is    now   uniformly    designated   by  the 


TWENTY-SEVEXTII     INDIANA.  489 

title  at  the  head  of  this  chapter,  namely,  The  battle  of  Xew 
Hope  Church.  By  many  of  those  engaged  in  it  it  was  called 
at  the  time,  "The  Hornet's  Nest,"  and  "Hell  Hole."  In 
letters  and  reports  of  the  period  it  was  often  called  the  "  Bat- 
tle of  Dallas,"  and  sometimes  "  The  Battle  of  Pumpkin  A'ine 
Creek."  This  latter  name  is  now  applied  to  an  engagement 
which  occurred  two  days  after  the  battle  of  New  Hope  Church, 
further  down  the  creek,  in  the  direction  of  Allatoona. 
"  Hornet's  Nest  "  and  "  Hell  Hole"  are  illustrations  of  the 
aptness,  as  well  as  the  readiness,  with  which  soldiers  found 
names  for  any  and  everything. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Fesler's  official  report  of  the  battle  of 
New  Hope  Church,  in  full,  is  as  follows:  "Occasional  skir- 
mishing from  the  16th  of  May  until  the  25th  of  May,  when 
the  regiment  arrived  at  New  Hope  Church,  near  Dallas, 
Georgia.  About  4:00  p.  m.  of  that  day  General  Ruger  ordered 
Colonel  Colgrove,  commanding  the  regiment,  to  take  position 
on  the  right  of  the  brigade  and  move  forward.  After  advanc- 
ing about  500  yards  the  enemy  opened  a  very  heavy  lire  upon 
the  regiment,  with  musketry  and  canister,  from  their  rifle  pits 
and  after  fighting  about  forty  minutes,  the  regiment  was  com- 
pelled to  fall  back,  with  a  loss  of  five  killed  and  forty-six 
wounded." 

General  Williams,  in  his  ofticial  report,  gives  a  very  clear 
outline  of  the  engagement  ;  he  says  in  part  : 

"  1  received  an  order  from  the  commander  of  the  corps  to  counter- 
march and  move  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the  support  of  Geary's  division. 
I  marched  left  in  front,  recrossed  the  creek,  and  finding  my  way  along 
the  left  bank,  crossed  agam  on  Geary's  route,  and,  after  a  rapid  march  of 
over  five  miles,  came  up  with  Butterfield's  and  Geary's  divisions  massed 
on  the  road  toward  New  Hope  Church,  and  passed  to  the  front.  Receiv- 
ing orders  from  the  corps  commander  to  put  my  division  in  order  of  at- 
tack, I  deployed  the  division  in  three  Hnes  of  brigade  front.  *  *  * 
The  division,  without  sufficient  halt  to  recover  breath,  moved  promptly 
in  advance  for  a  mile  and  a  half,  driving  the  enemy  before  us,  and  forc- 
ing back  his  strong  skirmish  line  and  heavy  reserves  at  double  quick.  It 
was  quite  dark  when  the  column  reached  the  foot  of  the  slopes  upon 
which  the  enemy  were  strongly  entrenched,  and  across  which  he  threw 
shot,  shell  and  canister  in  murderous  volleys.  During  the  advance  the 
Second  (Roger's)  15rigade  passed  lines  with  and  relieved  the  Third  (Rob- 
inson's), which  was  leading.  *  *  *  The  division  forced  its  way  close 
up  to  the  enemy'-  works,  l)ut  dari<ness,  rendered  doubly  dark  by  dense 
clouds  pouring  rain,  put  a  stop  to  further  efforts.  *  *  *  fhe  major- 
general  commanding  the  corps  followed  the  advance  l)rigadc  of  mv  divi- 
sion in  this  attack,  and  1   feel  confident  will  licar  tcstinumv  to  the  steadi- 


490  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ness,  good  order,  perst'verance  and  spirit  with  which  it  went  forward  until 
darkness  put  an  end  to  the  contlict." 

General  Ruger,  in  his  official  report,  after  covering  sub- 
stantially the  same  grotuid  as  General  Williams,  adds  : 

"  The  brigade  attained  a  position  in  some  portions  of  the  hne,  nearer 
the  enemy's  works  than  any  other  of  our  troops,  some  of  its  dead  being  in 
advance  of  the  position  afterward  occupied  by  the  line  of  skirmishers  of 
the  troops  which  relieved  the  First  Division. 

As  bearing  upon  this  fact,  mentioned  by  General  Ruger, 
Captain  Williams  records  in  his  diary,  that  the  body  of  Private 
Kutch,  of  Company  I,  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  was  found 
nearer  the  enemy's  works  than  that  of  any  other  Union  sol- 
dier. Kutch  had  joined  the  regiment  as  a  recruit  the  previous 
winter.     The  Captain  well  says,  "  Brave  Kutch  !  '' 

Curiously  enough,  the  troops  which  our  division  fought 
at  New  Hope  Church  were  the  same  that  they  fought  at  Res- 
ace, — Stewart's  division  of  Hood's  corps.  The  conditions  be- 
ing more  than  reversed,  it  is  not  surprising  that  results  should, 
in  a  measure,  be  reversed  also.  The  moral  to  be  derived  from 
the  two  instances  seems  to  be  that  it  was  futile  and  wrong, 
armed  as  men  were  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  for  one  army 
to  assault  another,  of  anything  like  equal  strength,  in  its 
chosen  and  fortified  position.  What  we  might  have  accom- 
plished had  we  been  given  an  opportunity  to  reconnoiter  the 
position  and  come  to  an  understanding  of  its  situation,  or  had 
had  a  more  open  country  and  the  light  of  day,  in  which  to 
operate,  as  was  the  case  with  our  adversaries  at  Resaca,  can 
onlv  be  a  matter  of  speculation. 

The  battle  of  New  Hope  Church  was  on  the  second  anni- 
versary of  the  Twenty-seveiith's  first  baptism  of  fire  at  ^^'in- 
chester.  It  was  therefore  our  second  battle  on  the  25th  of 
May,  and  our  fourth  and  last  in  the  month  of  May,  not  count- 
ing Newtown  or  Buckton  station.  The  Twenty-seventh 
had  three  men  wounded,  and  killed  at  least  one  of  the  enemy, 
in  the  affair  at  Newtown,  on  the  24th  of  May,  1862;  while  on 
the  day  previous,  the  28d  of  May,  Company  B,  of  the  Twen- 
ty-seventh, participated  in  the  sharp  encounter  at  Buckton. 

General  Ruger  reports  but  one  man  taken  prisoner  from 
his  brigade  at  the  battle  of  New  Hope  Church.  Only  one  ! 
Alas,  that  one  happened  to  be  one  of  the  truest,  most  imselfish, 
devoted  friends  that  the  writer  has  ever  known — and  he  never 
returned.      Guileless  as  a  child,  afTectionate  and  confiding  as  a 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  491 

woman,  patient  and  genial  as  a  saint,  his  white-winged  soul 
went  up  to  God  from  that  Lazar-spot  at  Andersonville,  in  the 
summer  following  his  capture.  Heaven  pity  the  fiends  in  hu- 
man form  who  could  deliberately  take  the  life  of  sucli  a  noble 
man  and  patriot,  by  the  slow,  heartless  process  of  exposure 
and  starvation  !  Himself  a  stranger  to  passion,  wholly  free 
from  hate  or  malice,  he  was  bearing  arms  solely  from  a  sense 
of  duty,  as  he  saw  it,  solemnly  laying  his  life  on  the  altar  of 
country,  to  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  republican  gov- 
ernment to  others.  He  could  not  have  refused  his  last  cracker, 
or  the  last  drop  of  water  in  his  canteen,  to  a  suffering  Confed- 
erate soldier. 

To  an  acquaintance  in  another  regiment,  whom  he  met  in 
prison,  and  who  lived  to  bring  the  word  back,  he  related  that, 
in  some  way,  he  became  separated  from  the  Twenty-seventh 
about  the  time  it  retired  from  in  front  of  the  enemy's  works, 
and,  becoming  confused  as  to  directions,  walked  straight  into 
the  enemy's  lines.  He  saw  a  squad  of  men  ccoking  their  sup- 
pers around  a  little  fire  and,  going  up  to  them,  inquired  for 
the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana.  They  were  rebels,  and  at  once 
forced  him  to  surrender. 

"  His  were  the  virtues  that  our  grandsires  knew, 

The  steadfast  faith,  the  sturdy  loyalty, 
And  the  clean  soul  that,  like  a  compass  true. 

Holds  straight  in  any  sea. 


" 'Twas  like  him  that  he  went  unheraldedl 
Twas  like  his  generous  heart  to  give  his  all. 


"  'Tis  of  such  brain  and  brawn  that  God  has  made 
A  Nation,  setting  wide  its  boundary  bars, 

And  to  its  banner  giving  the  high  aid 
And  courage  of  the  stars." 

The  Twenty-seventh  was  fortunate  in  its  imusual  exemp- 
tion from  rebel  prison  experiences.  With  the  exception  of 
those  captured  at  Winchester,  only  a  small  number  fell  into 
the  enemy's  hands.  That  was  earlier  in  the  war  and  their 
period  of  captivity  was  short,  and  a  veritable  play-spell,  com- 
pared with  what  befell  prisoners  in  1864. 

Were  it  not  that  this  one  case  comes  so  close  home  to  him 
personally,  the  writer  might  not  think  it  within   his    province 


492  mSTOKY  OF  the 

to  go  further  than  merely  to  mention  this  blackest  page  in  the 
long,  black  record  of  the  slave  holders'  rebellion.  No  docu- 
ment of  any  length,  however,  relating  to  that  rebellion,  should 
be  permitted  to  find  its  way  to  posterity  without  containing 
at  least  some  expression  of  the  abhorrence  which  all  enlight- 
ened and  brave  men  must  ever  cherish  for  that  most  monstrous 
of  all  episodes  in  our  imbittered  civil  war. 

At  the  time  of  that  war  the  writer  was  a  3'outh,  in  his 
teens.  He  has  now  reached  the  point  in  life  whence  the  tide 
sets  rapidly  towards  the  open  sea.  He  does  not  adnjit  that  he 
ever  had  a  vestige  of  malice  or  hatred  in  his  heart  with  respect 
to  those  who  were  engaged  in  the  rebellion,  and  any  asperity 
or  ill  temper,  that  may  have  been  engendered  in  the  progress 
of  that  strife,  have  long  since  disappeared.  What  he  writes 
here  he  believes  to  be  purely  a  matter  of  history.  The  con- 
clusions set  down  are  the  result  of  a  prolonged  investigation 
of  the  subject,  and,  as  he  has  reason  to  hope,  an  unbiased,  judi- 
cial consideration  of  all  the  facts  and  circumstances. 

1.  The  deprivations  and  indignities  of  Union  prisoners 
in  the  earlier  stage  of  the  war  were  the  result  of  the  peculiar 
doctrines  and  convictions  generally  taught  and  believed  in  the 
South,  with  reference  to  a  Northern  man  caught  there,  with 
arms  in  his  hands.  According  to  the  prevalent  teaching  and 
belief  of  that  section  he  was  not  really  a  soldier,  not  a  person 
belonging  to  a  recognized,  legitimate  army,  but  a  lawless 
raider,  an  armed  "  nigger  stealer,"'  and,  therefore,  an  outlaw. 
Given  the  cause,  the  effect  was  a  matter  of  course.  The 
humanity  and  civilization  of  some  would  prevail  over  their 
dogmas,  but  not  so  of  most. 

2.  At  a  certain  stage  of  the  war  it  became  the  definite, 
clearly  understood  policy  of  certain  prominent  .Southern 
leaders  to  increase  and  intensify  the  deprivations  and  indigni- 
ties of  Union  prisoners  to  a  degree  that  was  meant,  if  neces- 
sary, to  be  ruinous  and  fatal.  The  special  motive  for  this 
was  the  fact  that  the  National  authorities  had  armed  the 
negroes,  and  had  refused  to  exchange  prisoners  unless  negro 
soldiers  were  recognized  as  such,  and  exchanged  the  same  as 
the  others.  The  plan  of  the  Southern  leaders  was,  therefore, 
to  make  the  lot  of  white  prisoners  in  their  hands  so  rigorous, 
absolutely  so  murderous,  and  on  such  a  gigantic  scale,  as  to 
force  the  National  authorities  to  their  terms.  The  enormities 
of  Andersonville.  Millen    and    Columbia  were  not    incidental 


T\VENTY-SE\'ENTII    INDIANA.  493 

or  unavoidable — not  the  result  of  inattention  on  the  part  of 
those  higher  in  authority  and  the  abuse  of  power  on  the  part 
of  those  lower  in  authority — but  they  were  instances  where 
prisoners  of  war,  taken  in  honorable  warfare,  disarmed  and 
helpless,  but  brave,  devoted  men,  were  coolly  and  deliberately 
selected  to  be  made  the  victims  of  suffering,  even  to  the 
extent  of  a  slow  and  horrible  death,  in  order  that  their  out- 
cries, or  their  pitiable,  desperate  condition;  might  compel  their 
friends  to  do  a  thing  which  they  could  not  be  compelled  to  do 
by  more  honorable  means.  In  other  words,  these  rebel 
prisons  of  1864,  were  instances  on  a  huge  scale,  by  Americans 
against  Americans,  of  premeditated  torture  for  ransom. 

3.  It  was  in  pursuance  of  this  definite,  clearly  under- 
stood policy  that  men  of  harsh,  cruel  and  brutal  natures — con- 
scienceless, merciless  and  inhuman — were  studiously  sought 
out  and  designedly  selected  and  given  unrestricted  control  of 
prisons.  In  other  words,  the  sole  and  only  reason  that  such 
men  received  their  appointments  was  because  it  was  believed 
that  they  were  capable  of  doing,  and  would  do,  exactly  what 
they  did  do. 

4.  The  location  of  prisons,  particularly  that  of  Ander- 
sonville,  was  controlled  by  the  same  policy.  The  thought  was 
to  get  the  prison  away,  where  the  condition  of  the  prisoners 
could  be  concealed,  not  so  much  from  the  National  authorities 
and  the  outside  world,  as  from  the  humane,  enlightened  and 
Christian  people  among  themselves. 

5.  There  are  many  strong,  if  not  conclusive,  reasons  for 
believing  that  one  of  the  parties  to  this  policy,  if  not  the 
originator  of  it  and  chief  factor  in  its  execution,  was  the  head 
of  the  Confederate  government,  so  called,  namely,  Jefferson 
Davis.  While  there  is  no  reason  to  believe,  as  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  for  any  one  to  believe,  that  the  brave, 
capable  men  who  were  leading  the  armies  at  the  front  knew 
anything  of  the  policy,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  Davis, 
and  those  immediately  associated  with  him  in  the  government, 
not  only  knew  of  it,  but  actively  aided  and  abetted  in  its 
adoption  and  execution. 

6.  The  plea  of  poverty  or  straightened  circumstances 
cannot  be  accepted  as  palliating  to  any  great  extent,  much 
less  as  excusing,  most  of  the  admitted  facts.  That  prisoners 
should  be  penned  in  a  shelterless  field  for  a  whole  year,  in  the 
midst  of  a  heavily  timbered  country  ;   that  thirty-five  thousand 


494  HISTORY    OF    THE 

men  should  be  forced  to  occupy  a  space  of  ground  too  small 
for  ten  thousand,  in  a  region  where  land  could  be  bought  for 
a  dollar  an  acre  ;  that  this  seething  mass  of  humanity  should 
perish  for  the  lack  of  sufficient  pure  water,  in  a  locality 
where  flowing  springs  and  running  brooks  are  abundant  ; 
that  human  beings  should  be  permitted  to  die  like  rotten 
sheep  from  scurvy,  when,  as  one  of  their  own  number  cited 
at  the  time,  a  few  wagon  loads  of  green  corn,  easily  obtain- 
able in  the  vicinity,  would  have  prevented  or  stopped  it — these 
admitted  facts,  under  these  undeniable  conditions,  cannot  be 
satisfactorily  accounted  for,  much  less  justified,  on  the  plea 
that  the  Southern  people  were  impoverished.  This  is  leaving 
out  of  the  question  the  matter  of  insufficient  and  unwhole- 
some food  ;  though  it  is  notorious  that  Sherman's  army  found 
a  condition  of  great  plent}^,  as  far  as  food  supplies  were  con- 
cerned, in  its  march  through  the  same  State,  at  the  close  of  the 
same  season. 

7.  The  Southern  people  as  a  whole  cannot  be  justly 
charged  with  this  indelible  stain  upon  the  American  name.  It 
may  be  true  that  slavery  had  blunted  their  consciences  and 
sensibilities,  and  that  passions  engendered  in  connection  with 
the  war  were  so  inflamed,  that  they  consented  to,  if  they  did  not 
actively  engage  in,  measures  which,  under  other  conditions, 
they  would  have  abhorred,  as  all  civilized  people  are  supposed 
to  abhor  them.  But  it  should  not  be  forgotten-  or  overlooked 
that  it  was  a  Southern  man,  one  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
rebellion,  who  furnished  the  fullest  and  most  authentic  expo- 
sition of  the  conditions  at  Andersonville,  as  they  really 
existed.  His  protest,  filed  with  the  Confederate  authorities, 
and  preserved  with  the  Confederate  archives,  constitutes  a 
prominent  part  of  the  irrefragible  testimony  that  those  condi- 
ditions  did  really  exist.  It  was  also  largely  in  response  to  the 
public  sentiment  awakened  at  the  South  by  this  protest,  and 
by  the  publication  of  the  facts  in  other  ways,  that  an  ex- 
change of  prisoners  was  eventually  agreed  to,  and  the  stigma 
thus  terminated. 

The  rain  which  poured  down  during  the  battle  of  New 
Hope  Church  continued  at  intervals  through  the  night  follow- 
ing. The  earth  was  soaked  with  water  and  the  darkness,  in 
the  shade  of  the  thick  foliage,  rendered  it  almost  necessary 
that  we  should  lie  down  supperless,  upon  a  dismal  bed.  Any 
soldier    who    remembers    of    spending   the  night    under   very 


TWENTY -SEVENTH     INDIANA. 


495 


uncomfortable  and  restless  circumstances,  as  most  who  were 
there  doubtless  will,  can  have  the  satisfaction  that  he  was  not 
the  onlv  one  who  had  that  experience.  Here  is  what  General 
Sherman  says  concerning  himself  that  night:  "  I  slept  on 
the  ground,  without  cover,  alongside  of  a  log.  Got  little 
sleep.  Resolved  at  daylight  to  renew  the  battle,  and  to  make 
a  lodgement  on  the  Dallas  and  Allatoona  road  if  possible." 

The  loss  of  the  Twentv  seventh  at  New  Hope  Church 
was  :  Killed  and  mortally  wounded,  8.  Wounded  but  not 
mortally,  48.      Missing,  1. 


One  of  the  Twentv-.Sevexth"s   Regimental  Flags. 

(Presented  to  Co.  K  by  people  of  Jasper  and  carried  as  Regimental  Flag 
at  Antietam.     All  the  men  are  Co.  K  men.     Recent  picture.) 

Above  plate  and  those  of  Capt.  Wellman   and   Maj.    Mehringer  kindlv 
loaned  from  Wilson's  History  ol"  Dubois  Co. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


A  UNIQUE  CAMPAIGN. 

Some  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in  deciding  upon  a 
name  for  this  chapter.  For  a  while  it  was  proposed  to  call  it 
"the  battle  of  a  hundred  days."  Considering  some  of  the 
things  referred  to  in  it  that  name  would  not  have  been  out  of 
place,  though  slightly  misleading,  considering  the  time  actu- 
ally covered  by  the  chapter. 

The  battle  of  New  Hope  Church  was  the  beginning  of  the 
the  long  series  of  battles  and  skirmishes,  the  incessant  picket- 
firing  and  cannonading,  the  oft-repeated  maneuvres  for  new 
positions  and  the  successive  flank  movements,  by  which  the 
enemy  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  mountain  fastnesses 
north  of  the  Chattahoochee  river,  about  the  10th  of  July.  In 
fact,  substantially  the  same  methods  were  pursued  and  the 
same  experiences  were  continued  from  the  initiatory  move- 
ments in  front  of  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  May  5,  until  Atlanta 
was  ours,  September  2d.  Scarcely  an  hour  passed  during 
that  period,  day  or  night,  that  any  soldier  of  Sherman's  army 
did  not  hear  the  boom  of  cannon,  if  he  was  not  in  close 
proximity  to  the  sharp  crack  of  mnskets.  For  almost  exactly 
four  months  very  few  days  went  by  with  anyone,  and  not 
many  consecutive  hours,  without  hearing  the  swish  of  a  shell 
or  the  zip  of  a  bullet.  Those  who  kept  a  careful  account  affirm 
that  the  Twenty-seventh  was  under  fire  one  hundred  and 
eleven  of  these  one  hundred  and  twenty  days. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Fesler,  in  his  official  report,  gives 
more  than  a  hint  of  what  befell  the  regiment  from  this  time 
forward,  aside  from  the  regular  battles.  He  says,  "  From 
May  25th  to  July  20,  the  losses  in  the  Twenty-seventh  were 
from  five  to  fifteen  a  week,  in  killed  and  wounded."  After 
reporting  the  battle  of  Peach  Tree  Creek,  which  occurred  on 
July  20th,  he  continues  :  "  The  22d  of  July  I  advanced,  with 
the  brigade  within  two  and  one-half  miles  of  Atlanta,  and  was 
ordered  into  position  near  the  left  of  the  railroad,  and  was 
under  fire  of  the  enemy's  pickets  or  siiarpshootcrs  until  the 
24th  of  Au<nist.'' 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  4'J7 

The  physical  labor  and  exposure  of  this  period,  particu- 
larly the  first  eighty  days  of  it,  were  prodigious.  As  near  as 
can  be  computed  at  this  date  close  to,  if  not  exactly,  twenty- 
five  times  the  Twenty-seventh  constructed  regular  systems  of 
breastworks,  or  parapets,  within  the  eighty  days.  Most  other 
regiments,  of  course,  did  substantially  the  same.  Often  this 
was  done  in  the  intense  heat  of  that  semi-tropical  summer.  It 
was  always  done  in  great  haste,  under  the  extreme  pressure  of 
an  impending  attack,  several  times  actually  under  fire. 

As  it  rained  during  the  battle  of  New  Hope  Church,  as 
well  as  the  day  before  and  the  night  following,  so  it  did 
almost  every  day  for  the  next  fifteen  or  twenty  days  succeed- 
ing. And  these  were  rains  I  With  little,  if  any  warning, 
history  seemed  to  be  repeating  itself.  "The  windows  of 
heaven  were  opened  and  the  floods  descended."  Neither  was 
there  any  bow  of  promise  in  sight,  witnessing  that  another 
deluge  was  not  at  hand.  These  heavy  rains  not  only  caught 
us  repeatedly  without  the  least  shelter,  but  they  came,  again 
and  again,  while  we  were  crouching  in  narrow  clay  trenches 
or  rifle  pits,  which  the  least  water  speedily  transformed  into 
hog  wallows ;  or  they  drenched  us  to  the  skin  while  we 
were  lying  flat  on  our  stomachs,  in  the  eft'ort  to  screen  our- 
selves from  well-aimed  bullets.  Though  the  days  were  always 
warm  and  sunshine  usually  followed  the  rain,  it  was  true  here, 
as  it  had  been  in  Virginia,  our  clothes  being  wet,  a  cold  night 
frequently  ensued. 

Yet,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  these  were  davs  of  good 
cheer  among  the  soldiers,  often  days  of  great  joy  and  delight. 
Everybody  laughed  and  was  as  merry,  played  as  many  pranks 
and  had  as  much  fun,  as  was  commonly  true  in  the  same 
length  of  time  under  other  conditions.  Men  uniformly  went 
to  their  tasks  and  bore  all  of  their  hardships  cheerfully,  often 
joyfully,  and  not  infrequently  they  did  hard,  disagreeable  and 
even  desperate  things,  with  veritable  shoutings  of  glory. 

General  Sherman's  peculiar  relation  to  his  soldiers,  as  well 
as  the  unexampled  success  attending  his  operations,  liad 
everything  to  do  in  bringing  about  these  results.  It  was  here 
that  he  blazed  out,  full  orbed,  into  the  one  ideal  commander 
of  a  volunteer  army.  In  the  wonderful  genius  he  displavcd 
in  grasping  peculiar  situations,  and  in  his  marvelous  adapta- 
tion of  means  to  ends,  he  will,  in  many  respects,  stand  forever 

without  a  rival. 
32 


408  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Throughout  this  entire  campaign  Sherman  was  constantly 
-with  and  among  his  men.  There  was  no  telling  when  he  might 
appear  in  the  midst  of  any  regiment,  or  ride  up  to  any  picket 
post.  Without  being  the  least  patronizmg,  or  obsequious, 
above  all,  without  lacking  anything  in  dignity,  his  manner 
was  wholly  free  from  airs  of  superiority  or  haughtiness. 
If  he  desired  information  he  questioned  the  one  nearest  to  him, 
or  the  one  who,  owing  to  the  position  he  occupied  at  the  time, 
seemed  most  likely  to  know,  regardless  of  rank.  If,  for  any 
reason  he  stopped  for  awhile,  as  he  often  did,  and  a  circle  of 
men  gathered  around  him  to  listen  to  what  he  was  saying, 
even  venturing  to  ask  him  questions  (they  were  always  eager 
to  do  both),  it  did  not  seem  to  annoy  him  at  all.  His  replies 
to  them  were  always  courteous  and  usually  candid,  though 
brief.  He  seemed  uniformly  to  treat  all  of  his  soldiers,  regard- 
less of  rank,  as  if  he  considered  them  full  partners  with  him- 
self in  the  enterprise,  equally  interested  in  its  success,  and 
worthy  of  being  trusted  to  almost  any  extent. 

It  goes  without  saying,  that  General  Sherman's  soldiers 
fairly  idolized  him.  They  called  him  "  Uncle  Billy,"  and  that 
meant  everything.  It  meant  the  extreme  of  admiration,  devo- 
tion and  obedience.  Sherman's  army  really  reached  the  point 
where  it  trusted  him  always  and  blamed  him  never.  To  this 
there  were  no  exceptions.  None  remained  to  weaken  the  rest. 
With  one  mind  and  one  heart,  all  were  ready  and  anxious  to 
undertake  whatever  he  ordered.  In  this  we,  who  had  been  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  were  not  in  any  respect  behind 
those  who  had  served  under  him  from  the  beginning.  Our 
confidence  in  commanders  had  been  sorely  tried,  but  we  dropped 
into  this  so  naturally  that  we  could  give  no  date  to  the  expe- 
rience. 

Sherman's  example  had  its  influence,  also,  upon  his  sub- 
ordinates. Some  of  them  may  not  have  needed  it.  He  him- 
self says  of  General  Thomas,  "  Between  Thomas  and  his  men 
there  existed  a  most  kindly  relation.  He  frequently  talked 
with  them  in  a  most  familiar  way."  This  was  certainly  more 
true  at  this  time  of  all  high  in  authority  than  it  had  ever  been 
before. 

This  campaign,  of  all  others,  was  a  time  to  see  generals  of 
high  rank.  A  famous  man,  and  even  several  famous  men, 
was  an  every  day  sight.  Four  or  five,  often  more,  of  the  men 
whose  names  are  now  historic,   any  one  of  whom   if  still  alive 


TWENTY— SEVENTH     INDIANA. 


499 


would  excite  universal  interest  by  a  visit  to  any  of  our  cities, 
could  be  seen  almost  daily,  halted  temporarily  at  some  cross- 
roads, or  conferring  together  under  a  clump  of  trees.  Their 
headquarters,  when  they  had  any,  were  always  located  among 
their  men,  near  the  front.  They  knew  how  their  men  fared 
and  their  men  knew  that  they  fared  very  little  better  than 
themselves. 

History  does  not  record  another  instance,  probably,  where 
soldiers  of  all  ranks  were  thrown  as  much  upon  their  own  in- 
dividual responsibility,  and  were  allowed  as  much  latitude  for 


vSuKG.  John   II.  Alexander.        Capt.  Jas.  Stephens,  Co.  E. 

individual  action,  as  during  this  campaign,  unless  it  was  in 
■the  subsequent  career  of  the  same  army,  under  the  same  gen- 
erals. There  was  a  relaxation,  if  not  a  suspension,  of  much 
of  the  conventional  military  restraint  to  an  extent  that  we  of 
the  Twent}^-seventh  had  never  experienced  before.  Camp 
guards  were  unknown.  Roll  calls  were  few  and  far  between. 
Restrictive  orders  were  not  promulgated  morning,  noon  and 
night.  No  sleep  was  lost  by  anyone,  lest  a  chicken,  goose  or 
pig  might  be  killed.  The  hateful,  senseless  knapsack  was 
given  a  pei manent  leave  of  absence.      If   an  officer   or   soldier 


500  HISTORY    OF    THE 

fancied  a  hat  more  than  a  cap,  he  might  wear  one,  and  little 
attention  was  paid  to  color  or  shape.  It  seemed  to  be  taken 
for  granted  in  all  quarters  that  all  connected  with  the  expedi- 
tion were  not  only  patriotic  and  well-meaning,  but  capable 
and  trustworthy,  and  could  be  relied  upon  to  do  their  duty. 
Why  is  it  that  the  conventional  military  man,  or  so-called 
"  soldier"  of  the  academy,  and  of  the  militia,  never  can  learn 
this? 

A  picture  of  a  Twenty-seventh  soldier  at  this  time  would 
show  him  to  be  lean  and  weather-beaten  ;  not  an  ounce  of  sur- 
plus flesh  upon  him,  and  his  skin  as  brown  as  a  bun.  His 
clotl.es  would  be  soiled,  and  his  hair  and  beard  might  be  long 
and  probably  unkempt.  If  an  enlisted  man  and  on  the  march, 
the  only  worldly  effects  visible,  aside  from  the  clothes  on  his 
back  and  his  ever-ready  musket  and  its  belongings,  would  be 
a  small  roll  of  stuff  hanging  upon  the  left  shoulder  and 
crossing  over  to  the  right  hip.  That  roll  would  contain,  at 
most,  one  rubber  poncho,  one  woolen  blanket,  one  piece  of 
shelter  tent,  and,  possibly,  an  extra  shirt  and  pair  of  socks. 
It  often  contained  nothing  but  the  rubber  poncho  and  piece  of 
tent.  Dangling  somewhere  would  be  the  little  tin  pail  and 
frying  pan.  Often  a  light  ax,  or  hatchet,  was  suspended  to 
the  belt,  carried  in  turn  by  different  members  of  the  same 
company,  or  mess.  Impaled  upon  a  bayonet,  or  carried  in  the 
hand,  a  chicken  or  other  fowl,  or  a  piece  of  fresh  meat,  too 
large  to  find  a  place  in  the  haversick,  was  not  an  infrequent 
sight,  when  the  order  to  move  had  come  suddenly  and  the 
march  did  not  promise  to  be  a  long  one. 

As  a  rule,  each  soldier  received  his  own  rations  here, 
and  cooked  and  ate  them  in  such  ways,  and  largely  at  such 
times,  as  seemed  to  him  best.  For  cooking,  the  only  uten- 
sils known  were  the  aforesaid  pail  and  frying-pan,  and  the 
ramrod,  or  a  wooden  stick  of  similar  proportions.  These  last 
were  used  to  hold  the  pail  over  the  fire,  and  to  broil  the  meat. 
Held  thus  in  a  hot  flame,  whatever  was  in  the  pail  was  soon 
cooked,  and  a  piece  of  salt  pork  or  fresh  meat  was  soon 
ready  for  the  palate  of  the  hungry  man. 

The  first  effect  of  the  heat  upon  the  salt  pork — "sow- 
belly " — when  held  in  a  hot  fire,  was  to  bring  out  the  salt  and 
crystalize  it  upon  the  surface.  This  was  washed  off,  a  time 
or  two,  with  water  poured  from  the  canteen,  the  pork  being 
held  in  the  fire  again  between  each  washing.      In  case  of  fresh 


twp:xtv-seventh  ixdiaxa.  501 

meat  tlie  salt  had  to  be  added,  of  course,  instead  of  being 
washed  of!'. 

^Vhen  the  meal  was  ready  the  soldier  sat  complacently 
down  upon  the  ground,  tailor-fashion,  with  his  victuals  ar- 
ranged conveniently  around  him.  A  cracker  served  as  a  plate 
for  his  meat,  which  was  laid  upon  a  stone,  chip,  piece  of 
bark,  or  clean  spot  of  ground.  When  none  of  these  were  in 
sight,  the  toe  of  his  shoe  answered  just  as  well.  Some  people 
might  not  see  much  comfort — not  to  say  luxury — in  such 
primitive  and  somewhat  rude  conditions,  but  this  much  can 
be  said  of  them,  in  the  instance  referred  to  :  The  food  invari- 
bly  tasted  good,  and  the  soldier,  veteran  that  he  was,  wasted 
little  time  or  thought  in  considering  the  matter  in  any  other 
light.  It  is  needless  to  add,  that  any  true  picture  of  a  Twenty- 
seventh  soldier  and  his  surroundings  on  the  Atlanta  campaign 
would  have  many  features  in  common  with  a  picture  of  him 
on  any  other  campaign,  particularly  after  the  first  few  months 
of  our  service. 

This  was  soldiering  under  "  Uncle  Billy"  Sherman.  Is 
it  any  wonder  that  the  army  was  at  its  best?  Victory  was  in 
the  air.  Atlanta  was  sure  to  be  ours.  Secession  was  doomed. 
There  might  be  temporary  reverses,  the  best  of  plans  were 
liable  to  miscarry  sometimes.  But  ultimate  triumph — glorious 
and  complete — was  no  longer  a  question.      Hallelujah  ! 

To  say  these  things  here  may  appear  like  a  digression 
from  the  narrative;  but  to  say  them  somewhere  has  seemed  to 
be  necessary  to  a  proper  understanding  of  it.  Indeed,  it  may 
be  a  part  of  the  narrative  itself. 

Any  attempted  description,  in  consecutive  order,  of  the 
daily  movements  of  the  Twenty-seventh  during  a  considerable 
part  of  this  period,  especially  any  attempt  to  name  or  describe 
many  of  its  particular  locations,  with  a  view  to  future  identi- 
tication,  would  be  of  doubtful  propriety.  It  seems  hardly 
probable  that  the  numerous  separate  points,  in  the  extended 
region  between  Dallas  and  Kenesaw  Mountain,  will  ever 
receive  the  attention  bestowed  upon  other  places  rendered 
conspicuous  by  the  war,  some  of  them  far  less  deserving  of  it. 
The  scope  of  country  here  was  too  large. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  New  Hope  Church  Sherman 
began  gradually  extending  his  line  to  the  left  and  drawing  it 
in  correspondingly  on  the  right.  In  these  movements  many 
troops   passed   in   rear  of  our  position,  largely  at  night.      We 


502  HISTOIIY    OF    THE 

remained  almost  stationary  for  five  days.  When  our  bivouac 
was  shifted,  as  it  was  a  time  or  two,  it  was  not  far.  The 
second  day  after  the  battle  the  regiment  moved  a  short  dis- 
tance, across  the  road,  with  the  view  of  getting  into  a  more 
sheltered  position.  We  had  barely  stacked  arms  when  one  of 
our  men  was  killed  by  a  stray  bullet.  Several  others  were  hit 
during  the  day.  General  Williams  had  a  similar  experience 
with  his  headquarters.  He  had  re-located  them,  in  what 
seemed  to  him  a  safer  place,  and  had  opened  out  his  map  for 
a  quiet  season  of  study,  when  he  was  hit  by  a  glancing  ball. 
The  wound  was  not  serious,  and  only  caused  old  "Pap"  to 
express  his  sentiments  in  characteristic  language.  But  he  did 
not  move  again. 

Nights  and  Sundays  were  favorite  times  with  the  enemy 
for  picket  firing  and  attacks  on  our  advanced  positions,  in 
which  the  artillery  on  both  sides  commonly  took  a  hand.  No 
matter  how  quiet  it  was  at  other  times,  we  came  to  be  expectant 
and  watchful  at  these  periods.  Night  attacks,  after  opening 
at  one  point,  often  extended  until  a  long  line  had  participated. 
Frequently  one  would  begin  far  away,  to  the  right  or  left,  and, 
like  a  thunder  shower,  would  approach  nearer  and  nearer, 
with  increasing  clatter  and  roar.  Finally  it  would  reach  our 
front  and,  after  raging  with  greater  or  less  intensity  for 
awhile,  would  pass  on,  to  die  away  at  length  in  the  opposite 
direction.  This  always  awakened  the  whole  army  and  most 
of  it  would  be  under  arms. 

After  President  Lincoln's  order,  early  in  the  war,  direct- 
ing that  special  activities  should  not  be  planned  for  Sunday, 
and  that  when,  without  detriment  to  the  service,  they  could  be 
postponed  to  another  day,  it  should  be  done,  there  were  at 
least  some  signs  observable  on  our  side  of  respect  for  the  day. 
But  on  the  other  side  the  reverse  seemed  to  be  true.  If  the 
enemy  was  inactive  all  the  balance  of  the  week,  he  was  not  so 
on  Sunday. 

One  of  the  days,  when  the  lines  were  in  close  contact,  in 
the  memorable  thickets  around  New  Hope  Church,  was  the 
Lord's  day.  A  large  number  from  the  brigade  assembled  at  a 
point  slightly  to  the  rear,  and  the  chaplain  of  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Seventh  New  York  conducted  Divine  service. 
Meanwhile  muskets  were  not  only  cracking  vigorously  on  the 
picket  line,  but  the  ping  and  zip  of  rifle  balls  united  their 
music  with  that  of  the  hymns  and  the  doxology.      The  service, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  503 

however,  was  maintained  regularly  to  the  end,  with  no  dimin- 
ution either  in  attendance  or  interest.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
this  instance  has  many  authentic  parallels  in  history. 

General  Sherman  gives  a  vivid  word-picture  of  the  situa- 
tion in  his  army  during  the  closing  days  of  May.  They  will 
portray  the  experiences  of  the  Twenty-seventh  as  really  as  if 
written  for  them  alone.  He  says,  "  Meantime  Thomas  and 
Schofield  were  completing  their  deployments,  gradually  over- 
lapping Johnston  on  his  right,  and  thus  extending  our  left 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  railroad,  the  nearest  point  of  which 
was  Acworth,  about  eight  miles  distant.  All  this  time  a  con- 
tinual battle  was  in  progress  by  strong  skirmish-lines,  taking 
advantage  of  every  species  of  cover,  and  both  parties  fortify- 
ing each  night  by  rifle-trenches,  with  head-logs,  many  o£ 
which  grew  to  be  as  formidable  as  first-class  works  of  defense.'' 

By  the  first  of  June  the  enemy  had  let  go  entirely  of  the 
region  about  Allatoona,  and  soon  after  had  fallen  back  to  a 
line  in  which  Kenesaw,  Pine  and  Lost  Mountains  were  the 
dominating  features.  With  respect  to  this,  General  vSher- 
man  adds,  "  With  the  drawn  battle  of  New  Hope  Church  and 
our  occupation  of  the  natural  fortress  of  Allatoona,  terminated 
the  month  of  May  and  the  first  stage  of  the  campaign."' 

Following  each  retrograde  movement  of  the  enemy,  we 
made  a  corresponding  advance.  On  June  1st,  we  moved  to 
our  left  three  or  four  miles.  The  next  day  we  moved  twice, 
both  times  directly  towards  the  enemy,  and  both  times  we 
entrenched.  From  this  on,  for  several  days,  three  things 
transpired  every  day,  with  commendable  precision.  Two  of 
them  never  failed.  One  of  these  was  cannonading  and  picket 
firing  on  our  immediate  front,  and  the  other  was  a  deluge  of 
rain.  The  third  thing,  which  seldom  failed  any  day,  was  a 
short  move  to  the  front  or  flank.  If  it  was  to  the  front,  it 
meant  hot  work  for  the  picket  line,  and  a  system  of  entrench- 
ments when  a  halt  was  called.  Several  times  there  was  a  sec- 
ond advance,  and  a  second  system  of  entrenchments,  tlie 
same  day. 

The  repeated  heavy  rains  at  this  time  rendered  the  roads, 
which  before  had  been  a  disgrace  to  any  country,  next  to 
impassable.  For  a  few  days  rations  could  not  be  brought  out 
from  the  railroad  in  sufficient  quantities.  At  a  critical  period, 
when  supplies  were  getting  very  scarce,  the  Twenty  seventh 


50 i  IIISTOllY    OF    THE 

was  fortunate  enough  to  forage  a  fair  sized  beef,  which  did 
much  towards  tiding  us  over. 

On  June  7th  and  8th,  we  were  holding  a  line  along  a 
creek  in  front  of  Lost  Mountain.  There  was  a  short  interval 
during  which  the  rain  ceased  and  the  weather  was  really  fine. 
A  magical  change  was  at  once  observed  in  the  increased 
cheerfulness  and  exhuberance  of  everybody.  Our  brigade 
band  came  up  to  the  breastworks  and  played  several  pieces, 
among  them,  "  Johnny  Fill  Up  the  Bowl  "  and  "  Home,  Sweet 
Home."  This,  of  course,  was  done  as  much  for  the  benefit 
of  the  rebels  as  our  own.  And  it  did  not  seem  to  be  lost  upon 
them.  Immediately  following  this  serenade  their  pickets 
proposed  a  short  truce,  which  was  heartily  approved  by  oiir  boys 
oc  upying  the  outposts.  Besides  some  friendly  intercourse, 
under  proper  restraints  and  safeguards,  the  usual  exchange  of 
newspapers  and  bartering  of  coffee  for  tobacco  were  indulged 
in.  In  a  diary  in  which  this  incident  of  the  friendly  relations 
between  the  pickets  is  assigned  to  June  8th,  the  record  for 
June  9th  is,  '•''  Rebel  pickets  driven  07ie  7?iile.^^  This  was  char- 
acteristic of  the  times.      This  was  war. 

Another  diary,  kept  by  one  who  was  liable  to  be  accurate 
in  such  matters,  gives  the  strength  of  the  different  regiments 
of  the  Second  Brigade  at  this  time  as  follows  :  One  Hun- 
dred and  Seventh  New  York,  418;  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth 
New  York,  480;  Thirteenth  New  Jersey,  318;  Third  Wis- 
consin, 855;  Second  Massachusetts,  120,  and  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  Indiana,  247. 

The  wet  weather  had  not  ceased  permanently.  It 
returned  again,  if  possible,  with  increased  violence.  Rain 
fell  on  the  9th.  So  it  did  on  the  11th.  On  the  12th  it  rained 
hard  all  day.      On  the  13th  it  rained  all  day  and  all  night. 

On  the  14th,  a  shot  from  a  Union  cannon  killed  General 
Polk  of  the  rebel  army.  He  was  standing  at  the  time  on  the 
crest  of  Pine  Mountain,  with  Generals  Johnston,  Hardee  and 
others,  taking  observations  of  the  Union  positions,  A  South- 
ern history  says  he  was  hit  in  the  breast  by  an  unexploded 
shell.  At  least  a  dozen  batteries,  and  more  than  a  hundred 
gunners,  claim  the  distinction  of  firing  the  fatal  shot. 
Infantry  regiments  innumerable  claim  it  was  fired  by  the  bat- 
tery they  were  supporting,  and  probably  half  the  soldiers  in 
Sherman's  army  claim  they  saw  it  fired.  The  latter  claim 
would  be  hard  to  disprove,  as  the  shot   was  fired  in  open  day 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  505 

light  and  the  mountain  was  visible  to  a  large  part  of  the 
army.  The  fact,  as  Sherman  states  it,  is  that  this  shot  was 
one  of  a  hundred  or  more,  fired  by  several  batteries  in  volleys. 
So  it  would  be  impossible,  or  almost  so,  to  tell  by  what  bat- 
tery the  shot  was  fired,  much  less  who  sighted  the  gun.  Gen- 
eral Polk  had  been  or  was  a  bishop  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church. 

Inasmuch  as  he  had  been  originally  educated  for  a  soldier, 
it  can  be  understood  the  more  readily  why  he  might,  under 
some  circumstances,  lay  aside,  temporarily,  the  exalted  work 
of  the  Christian  ministry  to  become  a  commander  in  an  army. 
That  he  could  so  far  depart  from  the  teachings  of  the  Holy 
Bible,  which  he  had  solemnly  avowed  to  be  his  sole  and  only 
guide,  and  so  far  belie  the  spirit  of  the  Man  of  Nazareth, 
whose  he  was  and  whom  he  served,  as  to  unsheath  his  sword 
in  a  rebellion  against  the  Christian  republic  of  the  United 
.States,  begun  solely  for  the  mantenance  and  extension  of 
human  slavery,  horrified  and  outlawed  as  it  was  in  every  civil- 
ized corner  of  the  globe,  except  in  the  vSouthern  states,  is  a 
conspicious  example  of  the  blindness  to  which  even  men  of 
God  are  sometimes  given  over.  His  Master's  words  were  ver- 
ified in  his  case  :  "  He  that  taketh  the  sword  shall  perish 
with  the  sword." 

Adjutant  Bryant  recounts  a  characteristic  incident  of 
General  Sherman,  which  occurred  about  this  time.  He  saj's, 
"The  General  happened  to  be  near  the  head  of  the  regiment. 
Hearing  a  sharp  firing  in  a  ravine  some  half  a  mile  distant,  he 
desired  to  know  what  it  was.  A  mounted  lieutenant  of  some 
other  command  happened  to  be  riding  along  the  road  near  by. 
Sherman,  well  covered  in  his  water-proofs,  so  as  to  be  hardlv 
recognizable,  called  to  the  oflicer  to  ride  down  to  where  the 
firing  was,  find  out  what  troops  of  ours  were  in  there,  and 
report  to  him.  The  lieutenant,  not  liking  such  exposure,  said  : 
'  Excuse  me,  sir,  I  am  a  non-combatant'  (with  the  accent  on 
the  bat).  '  A  what,  sir,  a  what,  sir?'  growled  Sherman,  'a 
non-combatant?  I  did  not  know  I  had  such  a  thing  in  my 
army.  What  is  your  name,  sir?"  By  this  time  the  quarter- 
master saw  whom  he  was  talking  to  and,  with  apologies.  Inir- 
ried  off  to  get  the  information  desired.'" 

Another  incident  equally  characteristic,  is  current  at  this 
date,  and  seems  likewise  to  be  authentic.  The  General  was 
riding  along  side  of  a  supply  train,  which  was  trying  to  make 


50G  HISTORY    OF    THE 

headway  over  the  vile  roads  of  the  period.  Coming  to  a  team 
that  was  stalled  and  the  driver  whipping  and  swearing  shame- 
fully, Sherman  said,  "Stop  that,  stop  that,  sir!"  Looking 
up  the  driver  saw  who  it  was,  but  at  the  same  time  saw  that 
the  general  had  nothing  visible  about  him  to  indicate  his  rank. 
With  the  quick  intuition  of  a  soldier,  a  way  out  of  his  dilemma 
flashed  into  his  mind.  Assuming  an  air  of  offended  dignity, 
he  said,  "  Who  the  blank  are  you?"  Without  thinking  but 
what  the  man  was  sincere,  the  General  told  him  who  he  was. 
Apparantly  more  offended  than  ever,  the  driver  replied,  "  O, 
you  go  to  blank  !  Every  old  duffer  who  comes  along,  wearing 
a  greasy  blouse  and  a  slouch  hat,  can't  play  himself  off  to  me 
as  General  Sherman."  The  General  saw  the  point,  and  wnth 
the  suspicion  of  a  smile  rode  on. 

No  more  accurate  or  expressive  description  of  life  with  us 
for  the  few  days  following  can  be  given  than  to  quote,  word 
for  word,  a  diary  in  the  writer's  possession,  written  at  the 
time,  by  a  soldier  in  the  Twenty-seventh.  "June  15th,  ad- 
vanced two  miles.  Heavy  skirmishing  all  the  way.  Entrenched. 
June  16th,  sharp-shooters  troublesome.  Heavy  artillery  duel. 
Shells  riddled  the  timber  among  us.  June  17th,  rebels  fell 
back  early.  We  advanced  two  miles.  Entrenched  twice. 
Hooker  and  Sherman  came  around  in  the  evening.  June  18th. 
Rained  last  night  and  continued  all  day.  Heavy  skirmishing 
all  day.  Heaviest  kind  of  cannonading.  Ration  of  whisky. 
Some  rather  merry.  June  19th,  advanced  two  miles.  Enemy 
abandoned  two  lines  of  works.  Rain,  rain.  June  20th,  moved 
two  miles  to  the  right.  Lay  till  4  P.  M.,  then  advanced  three 
miles,  finding  no  enemy." 

By  skillful  maneuvers  the  enemy  was  thus  forced  out  of 
one  position  after  another.  A  long  line  of  battle  is  never 
straight,  but  necessarily  curves  and  zigzags  about,  to  conform 
to  the  lay  of  the  land.  This  often  enables  an  antagonist,  by 
advancing  part  of  his  force  to  a  certain  point,  to  fire  into  the 
flank  or  even  into  the  rear  of  this  crooked  line,  in  some  of  its 
turns  and  angles.  In  that  event  a  change  is  almost  certainly 
necessitated.  When  the  change  is  made  it  may  be  only  to  find 
that  tiie  new  position  is  as  faulty  and  untenable  as  the  old,  or 
is  speedily  rendered  so  by  another  move  of  the  foe. 

In  this  way  the  rebels  were  forced  to  abandon,  iirst  Lost 
Mountain  and  then  Pine  Mountain,  as  well  as  the  regions  ad- 
jacent.    Then,   tliough   holding   on   to  Kenesaw,   they  had  to 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  5U7 

swing  back  and  extend  their  left,  little  by  little,  until  finally 
their  line,  after  passing  from  east  to  west  along  the  northern 
slopes  of  Kenesaw,  turned  sharply  south  at  its  western  ex- 
tremity and    extended  in  that  direction   two  or  three  miles. 

In  the  closing  sentences  from  the  diary  quoted  above, 
the  movements  are  mentioned  by  which  the  Twenty-seventh, 
along  with  the  balance  of  the  Twentieth  Corps,  came  to 
occupy  a  position  near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Union 
line,  as  it  confronted  that  of  the  enemy.  This  position  was 
along  the  Powder  Springs  and  Marietta  roatl,  west  of  the 
latter  town. 

Here,  on  the  22d  of  June,  was  fought  the  Battle  of  Kolbs 
farm.  There  was  not  enough  of  this  engagement  to  go  around, 
therefore  the  Twenty-seventh,  though  present  and  witness- 
ing much  of  it,  took  but  little  part.  It  was  another  instance 
where  the  rebel  General  Hood  tried  the  "Jackson  tactics'' 
unsuccessfully.  It  seems  that  "  Pap  "  Williams  was  the  first 
to  become  apprised  of  Hood's  plans.     In  his  report  he  says  : 

"About  3  P.  M.,  hearing  there  were  credible  rumors  of  an  attack,  I 
reported  in  person  to  the  major-general  commanding  the  corps,  at  Kolb's 
house,  and  received  orders  to  deploy  my  division  in  one  line  and  throw 
up  breastworks  without  delay.  The  information  seemed  reliable  that  the 
whole  of  Hood's  corps  was  advancing  to  attack  us.  I  had  barely  reached 
the  left  of  my  line  (conveying  the  orders  in  person  to  each  brigade  com- 
mander, as  I  returned  from  the  corps  headquarters),  before  the  peculiar 
yell  of  the  rebel  mass  was  heard  as  they  emerged  from  the  woods  and 
dashed  forward  toward  our  line." 

General  Ruger  gives  a  very  clear  and  accurate  account  of 
the  engagement,  as  it  relates  to  his  brigade.      He  says  : 

"  In  accordance  with  orders  I  placed  the  brigade  in  position  in  one 
line  formation,  the  right  resting  near  the  Marietta  road,  and  connecting 
with  General  Hascall's  division  of  the  Twenty-third  Corps,  which  mean- 
time had  come  up  by  the  Marietta  road.  *  *  -  *  In  accordance 
with  orders  such  breast-works  were  made  as  could  he  constructed  by 
rails  and  other  material  within  reach.  In  front  of  the  left  two  regiments 
of  the  brigade  (the  Thirteenth  New  Jersey  Volunteers  and  One  Hundred 
and  Fiftieth  New  York  Volunteers)  the  ground  was  open  about  300  yards 
to  the  front.  The  First  Brigade  prolonged  the  line  to  the  left,  along  the 
crest  of  the  ridge.  *  *  *  Next  on  the  left  of  the  brigade,  and  between 
the  First  and  Second  Brigades,  was  Battery  M,  First  New  York  Artil- 
lery, light  12-pounders.  Very  soon  after  coming  into  position,  the  attack 
of  the  enemy  was  made  by  Hood's  corps.  His  columns,  in  ajiproaching, 
were  subject  to  a  fire  from  batteries  in  commanding  positions,  and  were 
much  disorganized.  In  the  immediate  front  of  the  brigade  and  of  the 
First  Brigade  the  enemy  emerged  from  the  cover  of  the  woods  in  the 


508 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


open  ground,  and  was  immediately  received  by  a  fire  of  canister  from 
Captain  Woodbury's  battery.  The  Thirteenth  New  Jersey  Volunteers 
and  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  New  York  Volunteers,  in  whose  front  the 
ground  was  open,  giving  a  good  view  of  the  enemy,  now  opened  fire. 
The  first  line  of  the  enemy  was  followed  closely  by  his  second,  and  that 
by  his  third.  The  second  soon  closed  up  on  his  first  line,  which  had 
halted,  and  was  even  disordered  before  receiving  the  musketry  fire.  In 
a  short  time  all  three  lines  were  repulsed  and  driven  back  in  a  confused 
mass,  with  heavy  loss,  the  third  line  advancing  but  a  short  distance  from 
the  shelter  of  the  woods.  The  enemy  making  the  attack  was  Steven- 
son's division  of  Hood's  corps." 


The   Charge   ()\ek   the   1jkid(;e 


General  Ruger  does  not  mention  the  fact  that  a  large 
ninnber  of  the  enemy  took  refuge  along  the  creek  in  the 
ravine  between  the  lines,  fearing  to  ascend  the  slope  back  of 
it,  and  were  handled  very  rotighly  later  on.  They  seemed  to 
be  crowded  into  that  depression  in  almost  a  compact  mass. 
They  were  partly  screened  from  the  tire  of  our  line  directly 
in  front  of  them,  but  our  men  farther  to  the  riglit  could  reach 
them  with  a  damaging  flank  fire,  wliile  some  of  our  batteries 
had  an  enfilading  range  upon  tliem  that  was  terrible. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  Q()[) 

The  corniTiLinder  of  one  of  these  batteries,  who  could  not 
from  his  position  see  the  effect  of  his  fire,  or  even  tell  when 
he  had  the  range,  rode  up  to  the  Twenty-seventh  and  asked 
the  men  to  cheer  when  his  shots  seemed  to  be  doing  execution. 
After  a  few  trials  he  succeeded  in  dropping  his  missils,  and 
exploding  theni.  squarely  in  the  midst  of  the  cowering,  de- 
fenseless enemy.  The  men  of  the  regiment  cheered,  and  then 
followed  the  most  galling,  merciless  shelling  of  men,  corralled 
where  they  could  neither  defend  themselves  or  escape,  that  it 
ever  fell  to  our  lot  to  witness. 

From  first  to  last,  the  enemy  was  severely  punished  in 
this  battle.  As  appears  in  General  Ruger's  report,  the  part 
of  the  line  held  by  our  regiment  was  not  attacked  directly. 
We  had  little  to  do  but  stand  to  our  arms  and  witness  the 
slaughter.  Bryant  tersely  savs  :  "  It  was  an  episode  of 
most  murderous  w^ar."  He  also  quotes  the  following  from  a 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald  : 

"Along  the  little  stream  ran  a  rail  fence.  The  rebels  had  crowded 
behind  this  for  protection,  but  were  literally  mowed  down.  The  torn, 
bloody  knapsacks,  haversacks  and  frequent  pools  of  blood,  were  ghastly 
evidences  of  how  they  suffered.  The  stream  was  choked  up  with 
bodies  and  discolored  with  blood.  In  the  ravine  and  around  the  house, 
where  they  had  crowded  for  shelter,  their  bodies  lay  piled  on  one 
another." 

Newspaper  statements  are  often  exaggerated,  but  this 
reference  to  "  pools  of  blood,"  and  the  water  in  the  little 
stream  being  "  discolored  "  by  it,  unusual  as  it  is,  even  in  war, 
is  confirmed  as  being  literally  true,  by  conservative  eye-wit- 
nesses in  the  Twenty-seventh.  Different  ones  have  affirmed 
that  they  had  always  supposed  such  langua.e  to  be  figurative 
only,  until  they  had  passed  over  this  fatal  field.  They  here 
saw  not  pools  of  human  blood  only,  but  also  places  where  it 
had  run  in  streams  over  the  ground  for  considerable  dis- 
tances. And  the  stagnant  water  in  the  brook  was  plainly 
affected  by  it,   in  many  places. 

Following  the  battle  of  Kolb's  Farm,  skirmishing  con- 
tinued daily,  as  also  the  daily  crowding  upon  the  enemy's 
position,  and  the  constant  building  and  strengthening  of 
breastworks. 

The  27th  of  June  was  the  day  of  the  assault  upon  the 
enemy's  position  on  the  slopes  of  Kenesaw.  This  is  known  :is 
the  Battle  of   Kenesaw   Mountain.     Fortunately  for  us.   our 


510  HISTORY    OF    THE 

division  was  not  of  the  number  chosen  to  make  the  assault. 
Our  side  suffered  a  decided  repulse.  Sherman  frankly  admits 
that  the  assault  failed,  and  almost  admits  that  he  himself  had 
little  hope  of  its  success.  He  justifies  it,  however,  by  alleg- 
ing that,  if  it  had  succeeded,  it  would  have  greatly  shortened 
operations  for  the  possession  of  Atlanta,  and  that  he  was 
almost  forced  to  make  it  as  a  means  of  discipline  to  his  army. 
With  respect  to  the  latter  consideration,  he  says,  in  substance, 
that  he  had  been  manopuvering  the  enemy  out  of  positions, 
and  flanking  around  strongholds  so  much  tliat  he  thought 
there  was  danger  of  the  men  allowing  all  of  their  stand-up, 
square-toed  fighting  qualities  to  slip  away  from  them.  If 
Sherman,  or  any  one  else,  had  any  suspicion  that  this  quality 
was  already  gone  from  the  men,  his  mind  must  have  been 
quickly  disabused  by  what  he  witnessed  in  this  assault.  No 
soldiers  were  ever  more  dauntless  or  heroic.  It  was  another 
case  of  "  Into  the  mouth  of  hell.''' 

In  the  massing  of  troops  preparatory  to  the  assault,  some 
changes  were  made  in  our  line,  and,  had  it  been  successful, 
we  were  prepared  to  take  full  advantage  of  it.  That  was  all 
we  were  called  upon  to  do.  Of  course  we  heard  much,  for 
there  was  much  to  hear — a  rumble  and  roar  of  cannon  and  a 
rattle  and  din  of  musketry,  such  as  invariably  accompanied  a 
fierce  battle.      The  weather  was  extremely  hot. 

After  the  battle  of  Kenesaw  Mountain  there  was  a  truce 
for  some  hours  along  the  whole  line,  that  the  dead  might  be 
hunted  up  and  buried,  and  the  wounded  cared  for.  During 
this  truce  all  sounds  of  strife  ceased.  Many  from  both  armies 
mingled  freely  together  in  friendly  conversation.  With  the 
men  on  both  sides  there  was  a  constant  curiosity  to  know 
more  about  the  other  fellows.  This  curiosity,  if  not  gratified, 
grew  with  each  passing  day.  The  air  of  mystery  which  an 
army  always  presents  to  its  adversary  was  probably  the  cause 
of  this.  The  men  of  each  army  know  that  the  other  army 
exists,  perhaps  that  it  is  in  the  near  vicinity,  and  that  it  is  a 
tremendous  engine  of  death,  requiring  the  utmost  watchful- 
ness. But  beyond  these  facts  they  know  very  little.  Except 
in  battle,  they  really  see  next  to  nothing  of  each  other.  A 
pile  of  fresh  dirt  on  a  distant  hillside,  the  glint  from  a  few 
gun  barrels  among  the  trees,  now  and  then  a  form  gliding 
across  an  opening,  these  are  all  they  ever  see.  Is  it  any  won- 
der that  they  are  desperately  anxious   to  see  and   know  more.'' 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  511 

Moreover,  the  conditions  were  strangely  anomolous  in 
our  war.  The  men  of  both  armies  had  belonged  in  the  same 
country.  Thousands  who  were  now  on  opposite  sides  had 
been  personal  acquaintances  and  friends  before  the  strife 
began.  We  had  quite  a  number  of  men  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh  who  had  been  born  and  brought  up  in  the  South. 
They  knew  as  many  soldiers  in  regiments  from  North  Caro- 
lina, Virginia  or  Kentucky  as  they  did  in  their  own.  These 
men  wanted  to  see  and  hear  from  friends.  We  all  wanted  to 
compare  notes  with  "Johnny  Reb,"  learn  something  of  his 
way  of  doing  things,  and  hear  from  his  own  lips  how  he 
liked  it,  as  far  as  he  had  gone. 

On  July  1st,  the  non-veterans  of  the  Third  Wisconsin 
started  home,  having  served  out  the  three  years  of  their  enlist- 
ment. They  had  been  excused  from  detail  for  some  days. 
Many  and  sincere  were  the  expressions  of  regret  at  parting, 
appreciation  of,  and  respect  for,  duty  nobly  done  and  good 
wishes  for  the  future.  The  ties  that  bound  those  who  stood 
bv  each  other  during  three  years  of  such  service  as  we  had 
seen  together  were  very  strong. 

On  Sunday,  July  8d,  we  were  awakened  at  1:00  A.  M. 
While  our  thoughts  were  busy  recalling  where  we  had  been 
one  year  before  that  morning,  and  speculating  as  to  what 
was  in  store  for  us  this  day,  the  rumor  was  confirmed  that 
the  rebel  army  had,  at  last,  abandoned  its  strong  position 
about  Kenesaw.  To  follow  it  was  our  next  duty.  The  sun 
was  barely  showing  signs  of  rising  when  we  moved  out.  The 
Twenty-seventh  was  assigned  the  advance,  with  Company  F 
on  the  skirmish  line.  In  this  order  we  moved  up  to  and 
passed  through  the  city  of  Marietta.  It  looked  to  be  rather  a 
pretty  place,  but  was  largely  forsaken  by  its   inhabitants. 

Our  army  took  a  large  number  of  prisoners  to-day.  They 
were  mostly  stragglers,  and  more  or  less  of  them  were  doubt- 
less really  deserters.  In  this  connection  a  very  unusual  event 
transpired.  George  Gore,  of  Company  D,  unaided  by  any 
one,  brought  in  five  live  prisoners.  He  carried  their  muskets, 
while  they  marched  before  him  and  carried  their  own  equip- 
ments. During  a  halt  of  the  regiment,  he  went  to  a  farm- 
house, some  distance  away,  on  the  lookout  for  something 
better  than  army  rations  with  which  to  refresh  the  inner  man. 
As  he  approached  the  place  he  saw  a  row  of  muskets  leaning 
against  the  outside  of  the  dwelling.       Not  suspecting  but  that 


512  •  HISTORY    OF    THE 

they  belonged  to  a  party  of  Union  soldiers,  he  went  on,  onlv 
to  find  five  Confederates  sitting  at  the  table  inside,  eating  their 
dinner.  It  was  too  late  to  retreat  and  Gore  thought  if  any- 
body had  to  surrender  he  would  rather  it  would  be  the  other 
fellows.  So,  drawing  his  gun  upon  them,  he  ordered  them  to 
come  out  and  precede  him  to  camp.  It  was  a  clear  and  well- 
authenticated  case  of  the  five-to-one  theory  upon  which  the 
South  began  the  war,  only  it  was  reversed.  The  men  did  not 
avow  themselves  to  be  deserters,  though  the}^  could  not  have 
been  very  determined  or  resolute  in  their  loyalty  to  their 
cause. 

If  there  was  ever  a  time  when  we  could  meet  the  enemy 
five  to  one,  though  we  were  never  foolish  enough  to  have  such 
a  thought,  it  was  to-day.  Our  spirits  were  high.  The  enemy 
had  again  shown  us  his  back,  and  under  such  circumstances  as 
to  encourage  us  greatly.  We  reasoned  that,  with  all  the  time 
which  had  elapsed,  in  which  to  recruit  and  concentrate  its 
army,  if  the  rebellion  could  not  hold  such  positions  as  the 
mountainous  regions  about  Alatoona  and  Kenesaw  afforded, 
there  could  be  little  doubt  that  it  was  now  nearing  the  last 
ditch. 

We  met  the  first  serious  resistance  of  the  day  some  five 
miles  beyond  Marietta.  Forming  line  of  battle,  we  soon  found 
that  another  system  of  entrenchments  confronted  us. 

This  brings  up  a  feature  of  the  war  not  mentioned  before, 
in  this  narrative.  The  rebel  commander  here  had  a  force  of 
several  thousand  negroes,  as  every  rebel  commander  had, 
which,  under  the  direction  of  competent  engineers,  put  in 
their  whole  time  constructing  defences.  Before  one  position 
was  abandoned,  another  was  prepared.  Not  only  so,  but,  as 
in  this  case,  intermediate  defences  were  constructed,  to  delay 
the  pursuit  and  prevent  our  army  from  gaining  any  advantage 
while  theirs  was  in  motion.  No  need  to  say  that  this  was  an 
immense  help.  It  was  one  of  the  ways,  therefore,  that  the 
negro  question  entered  into  the  practical  conduct  of  the  war. 
At  the  start  many  on  our  side,  some  of  them  sturdy  defenders 
of  the  Union,  contended  that  our  army,  in  putting  down  the 
rebellion,  should  not  molest  slavery  in  any  way.  It 
must  maintain  perfect  neutrality  with  respect  to  that  institu- 
tion. 

But  it  soon  became  manifest  to  all  reasonable  people  that 
such  a  course  was  impracticable,  as  well  as  suicidal.     The  insti- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  513 

tution  of  slavery  was  openly  used  to  help  the  rebellion.  The 
slaves  not  only  took  care  of  the  women  and  children  at  home 
while  their  masters  were  in  the  army  fighting,  and  even  raised 
a  surplus  to  send  to  the  army  for  its  maintenance,  but  actually 
came  and  assisted  the  army  itself.  This  gang  of  slaves 
increased  the  effective  strength  of  tiie  rebel  army  as  much  as 
if  they  had  been  mustered  into  it.  Those  engaged  in  the 
rebellion  saw  this  clearly.  Senator  Hill,  in  his  frenzied  appeal 
to  the  people  of  Georgia,  to  rise  against  Shermen,  on  his 
march  to  the  sea,  said:  "  Every  negro  with  his  spade  and 
axe  can  do  the  work  of  a  soldier."  This  is  why  it  became 
"a  military  necessity,"  as  Lincoln  expressed  it,  to  free  the 
slaves.  As  our  army  would  burn  a  mill  or  foundry,  or  destroy 
a  railroad,  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  using  them  against  us, 
so  it  became  imperative  to  strike  at  slavery. 

The  glorious  Fourth  of  July  was  ushered  in,  with  us,  this 
year,  by  our  bands  playing  National  airs.  They  began  so 
early  that  these  were  the  first  sounds  that  greeted  many  of 
our  ears,  on  awakening.  How  delightful  and  inspiring  the 
s^veet  strains  were,  as  they  were  borne  to  us  on  the  calm, 
fresh  morning  air!  No  soldier  of  those  old  davs  has  ever 
heard,  what  seems  to  him,  such  impressive,  soul-stirring  band 
music  as  he  heard  then.  Usually  in  the  hush  of  evening  or 
sometimes  in  the  early  morning,  as  was  the  case  now,  before 
the  confusion  and  excitement  of  the  day  had  begun,  our 
thorougly  trained  musicians,  with  their  hearts  in  their  work, 
rendered  the  numbers  appropriate  to  those  eventful  times. 
better  than  they  can  ever  be  rendered  for  us  again. 

The  regular  music,  of  another  sort,  also  opened  earlv, 
namely,  cannonading  and  picket  firing.  During  the  day  our 
division  moved  to  the  right,  perhaps  two  miles.  Our  bivouac 
that  night  was  in  a  dense  thicket,  with  very  strict  orders  to 
sleep  with  all  of  our  accoutrements  on,  and  within  easv  reach 
of  our  guns. 

Such  urgent  precautions  against  an  attack  favored  a  false 

alarm   which,  sure   enough,  came   before   morning.      A   lot  of 

loose   animals    (some   say  mules   and   others   beef  cattle)    got 

among  the  sleeping  men.      Upsetting  a  stack  of  muskets,  two 

or  three  of  them   were   discharged.      These  were   followed  by 

loud  shrieks  of  pain  and  terror  from  those  hit  or  trampled  upon. 

Instantly,  pandemonium   reigned.      Men,   partially    awakened 

out  of  a  deep   sleep,  went  wild   and  were  liable   to   do  almost 
33 


514  HISTORY    OF    THE 

any  foolish  thing.  The  whole  brigade,  if  not  the  whole  divi- 
sion, seemed  on  the  verge  of  a  stampede. 

But  an  officer  or  two,  blessed  not  only  with  cool  heads 
and  quick  wits,  but  with  stentorian  voices,  roared,  "  Steady, 
men  !  There's  nothing  the  matter;  steady  !  "  As  if  by  magic, 
all  was  quiet  in  a  trice,  and  the  men  dropped  down  again  and 
were  asleep,  almost  as  quickly  as  they  had  been  roused  up.  It 
has  been  stated  that,  when  morning  came,  no  one  could  be 
found  who  would  acknowledge  that  he  was  awake  or  knew 
anything  of  the  occurrence.  As  no  one  had  been  recognized 
in  the  inky  darkness,  that  was  a  slick  way  to  evade  all  reproach. 
The  episode  was  an  almost  exact  reproduction  of  what  hap- 
pened just  after  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain. 

On  July  5,  the  enemy  was  again  conspicuous  by  his 
absence.  We  advanced  over  his  abandoned  bieastworks. 
One,  who  claims  to  have  kept  a  careful  count,  avers  that  this 
was  the  tenth  regular  system  of  defenses,  not  counting  many 
isolated,  or  incomplete  ones,  since  leaving  Dalton. 

For  a  period  of  several  days,  just  now,  the  weather  was 
intensely  hot.  During  most  of  the  day  the  atmosphere 
had  a  furnace  temperature.  The  rebels  were  pushed  to  within 
about  two  miles  of  the  Chattahoochee  river.  Towards  the  last 
skirmishing  was  heavy.  From  the  tree  tops  upon  the  elevated 
ground,  where  we  finally  halted,  we  could  see  the  buildings  in 
•our  long  sought  and  earnestly  coveted  prize — Atlanta.  Field 
glasses  were  in  requisition,  and  many  were  the  ragged,  dirt- 
begrimed  and  vermin -infested  soldiers,  who,  after  so  many 
days  of  wilderness-journey,  climbed  up  to  these  Pisga  heights 
and  gazed  long  and  wistfully,  and  not  without  faith,  into  this 
'"Promised  Land." 

There  was  a  move  of  uncertain  length  and  direction  on 
the  7th,  and,  at  the  end  of  it,  the  erection  of  a  line  of  breast- 
works. The  direction,  in  general,  was  towards  the  right. 
The  heat  remained  torrid.  Our  position,  when  we  halted, 
was  on  one  of  the  main  roads  between  Marietta  and 
Atlanta.  The  day  following  we  were  greatly  annoyed  by  the 
dust,  raised  by  passing  teams.  A  tree-top  vision  of  Athmta 
could  also  be  had  from  this  point.  The  view  was  brighter 
and  faith  was  strengthened. 

Here  we  remained  stationary  for  awhile,  t  hough  other 
parts  of  the  army  were  active.  Schofield's  and  McPherson's 
armies  passed  up  the  river  and  crossed  over.      ^Vhen  the  rebel 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  515 

commander  learned  of  this  he  evacuated  the  position  in  our 
front  and  withdrew  behind  the  Chattahoochee  and  practically 
within  the  defenses  of  Atlanta.  Our  pickets  were  advanced  to 
the  river,  but  soon  arranged  a  truce  with  the  rebel  out-posts 
on  the  opposite  shore.  For  a  day  or  two  matters  were  more 
quiet  and  peaceful  than  they  had  been  for  many  weeks.  It 
really  seemed  odd  without  the  everlasting  pop.  pop,  on  the 
picket  line.  Except  for  the  occasional  boom  of  cannon,  far 
off  to  our  left,  we  might  have  fallen  into  a  hopeless  state  of 
enervation. 

The  time  was  improved  here  by  a  general  cleaning  up. 
It  mav  sound  barbaric,  but  it  was  really  delightful  to  all  that 
we  again  had  it  within  our  power  to  boil  alive  some  of  our 
most  venomous  and  blood-thirsty  enemies !  Stern  measures 
were  imperative.  To  accomplish  tliis,  every  pot,  kettle,  or 
other  vessel  that  would  hold  water  and  stand  fire  was  in 
demand.  As  it  was  at  Sandy  Hook,  Maryland,  after  the 
second  Bull  Run  and  Antietam  campaigns,  men  stood  picket 
and  did  other  duty  while  most,  if  not  all  of  their  garments 
were  boiling  in  suds,  or  hanging  on  limbs  to  drv.  A  sudden 
call  to  march  would  have  found  whole  battalions,  if  not 
brigades,  in  a  stark  condition  of  nativity. 

An  interesting  fact  is  related  in  connection  with  the  first 
crossing  of  the  Chattahoochee  by  our  troops.  As  the  advance 
swiftly  pushed  over,  and  dashed  up  the  opposite  bank,  a  rebel 
picket  post  was  captured.  One  of  the  men  had  been  writing 
home,  and  the  unfinished  letter,  as  well  as  the  writer,  was 
taken.  The  words  he  had  been  in  the  act  of  putting  down 
contained  strong  assurances  to  his  friends  that  he  was  not  in 
any  danger.  They  need  not  have  any  uneasiness  about  him. 
The  "  Yanks"  were  raising  disturbances  in  some  quarters,  but 
there  was  not  the  slightest  probability  of  them  disturbing  his 
repose.  Who,  alas!  in  the  army  can  forecast  the  future? 
Before  the  ink  was  dry  on  the  paper,  even  before  the  thought 
could  be  fully  expressed,  both  himself  and  his  letter  were  in 
the  hands  ot  his  enemies. 

Another  incident  had  its  beginning  here,  which  is  more 
directly  connected  with  this  narrative.  During  our  truce  with 
the  rebel  pickets  along  the  Chattahoochee,  members  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  became  in  a  measure  intimate  with  a  lieuten- 
ant and  a  number  of  his  men,  belonging  to  tiie  Tenth 
Georgia,  Confederate,  regiment.     The  privilege  of  bathing  in 


516  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  river  was  freely  accorded  to  both  sides,  and  there  was 
quite  a  little  interchange  of  courtesies,  as  well  as  commodities, 
between  our  boys  and  these  Southern  youths.  Warm-hearted, 
full  of  fun,  ready  to  give  or  take  a  joke,  never  harsh  or  ill-tem- 
pered in  their  language,  in  all,  excepttheiruniforms,  they  seemed 
one  with  ourselves.  But  while  our  association  with  them 
was  in  progress,  we  received  orders  to  march.  The  next  day 
we  crossed  the  Chattahoochee  and,  the  third  day  after  cross- 
ing, we  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Peach  Tree  Creek.  After 
it  was  over  we  found  the  names  of  the  Georgia  lieutenant,  and 
several  of  his  men,  on  the  head  boards  marking  the  graves  of 
those  killed  in  front  of  our  regiment.  The  thirty  years  and 
more  which  have  gone  over  our  heads  since  then,  have  not 
entirely  removed  the  pain  which  we  have  always  felt  when 
recalling  this  episode  of  war. 

The  rebel  defenses  immediately  north  of  the  Chattahoo- 
chee were  the  most  elaborate  of  any  we  met  with  on  this  cam- 
paign. General  Sherman  says  this  "  tctc-dii-poni,''''  as  he  calls 
it,  "  proved  one  of  the  strongest  pieces  of  field  fortifications  I 
ever  saw."  The  system  extended,  in  a  semi-circle,  from  the 
river  above  the  railroad  bridge  to  the  river  below  it.  The 
total  length  was  about  five  miles,  and  throughout  the  whole 
of  it  there  was  a  formidable  earthwork,  with  ditch,  escarpment, 
embrasures,  etc.  In  front  was 'the  customary  abatis,  while 
behind  was  a  line  of  block  houses,  bomb-proof  ammunition 
cellars,  wells  of  water  and  all  of  the  other  provisions  and 
safe-guards  of  a  regular  fort.  To  construct  these  must  have 
required  a  stupendous  outlay  of  labor.  Yet  all  were  turned 
in  a  day,  and  abandoned  as  useless. 

Among  other  things,  we  had  regular  inspection  while  on 
the  Chattahoochee, — the  first  since  leaving  Tullahoma. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


PEACH  TREE  CREEK. 

Our  clays  of  quiet,  rest,  cleaning-up  and  refitting  ended 
on  the  12th  of  June.  That  day  about  noon  we  started  up  the 
Chattahoochee  to  Vining's  Station,  and  crossed  the  river  on  a 
pontoon  bridge,  at  Paice's  Ferry,  a  short  distance  above. 
Passing  by  troops  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps,  we  camped  in  a 
rough  country,  though  in  a  fine  oak  woods,  at  eight  P.  ]M. 
We  had  for  several  days  regaled  ourselves  on  lucious  black- 
berries To-night  we  gathered  a  rich  harvest  of  huckleberries. 
Both  of  them  reminded  us  of  Indiana. 

On  the  18th,  we  moved  on  towards  Atlanta,  and  that  night 
we  entrenched.  It  was  not  safe  now  to  put  in  much  time 
anywhere  without  this  precaution.  On  the  19th,  we  moved 
still  farther  to  the  front,  camping  on  the  bank  of  Peach  Tree 
Crcck.  The  marches  these  two  days  had  not  been  long.  The 
weather  had  become  more  pleasant, — neither  too  warm  nor 
too  much  rain.     The  nights  were  especially  comfortable. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  July  we  advanced  across 
Peach  Tree  Creek.  We  were  now  only  four  miles  from  Atlanta. 
The  bluff  on  the  northern  side  of  Peach  Tree  at  this  point  is 
perhaps  thirty  feet  high,  almost  perpendicular,  butting  close 
up  to  the  channel  of  the  creek.  On  the  southern  side,  there 
is  quite  a  strip  of  marshy  bottom  land,  and  after  passing  this, 
the  ascent  to  the  higher  ground  beyond  is  gradual.  There 
were  positive  indications,  as  we  moved  across  the  creek  and 
up  the  opposite  slope,  that  we  had  come  about  as  far  as  we 
were  to  be  permitted  to  come  without  vigorous  opposition. 
There  was  brisk  firing  on  the  skirmish  line  and  a  rebel  battery 
was  dropping  shells  wherever  it  could  in  such  a  timbered 
region,  endeavoring  thus   to   hinder  and  delay   our  progress. 

From  near  the  point  where  w^e  crossed  the  creek,  a  narrow 
countryroadangled  to  the  right, passingdiagonally up  the  slopes 
and  across  the  ravines  on  the  south  side,  and  uniting  with  a 
more  prominent  road,  leading  from  Howell's  Mills  to  Atlanta, 
about  a  half  mile  beyond.     Williams'  division  was  moving  out 


518  HISTORY    OF    THE 

on  this  country  road,  first  mentioned.  Geary's  division,  whicli 
had  forced  the  passage  of  the  creek  the  evening  before,  and 
Ward's  division,  which  crossed  after  us,  bore  to  the  left,  and 
were  taking  positions  on  the  ridges  and  plateaus  out  in  that 
direction.  All  of  the  land  in  our  front  or  near  us  was  wooded, 
except  some  small  patches  around  a  cluster  of  vacant  cabins, 
slightly  in  advance  of  where  the  Twenty-seventh  halted.  To 
our  right,  and  a  little  behind  us,  was  a  division  of  the  Four- 
teenth Corps. 

The  time  until  after  three  P.  M.,  was  spent  in  crossing  the 
troops  over  the  creek  and  moving  into  position.  The  indica. 
tions  at  that  time  were  that  we  were  about  ready  for  a  farther 
advance.  The  firing  in  front  was  more  rapid,  indicating  an 
advance  of  the  skirmish  line.  Some  pieces  of  our  division 
artillery  were  passing  up  the  road,  as  if  they  might  be  needed 
ahead.  Suddenly  the  musketry,  off  to  our  left,  broke  out  into 
heavy  and  rapid  volleys.  The  cheers  and  yells,  which  also 
reached  us  from  that  direction,  plainly  indicated  that  another 
battle  was  on.  The  enemy  was  making  a  sudden  and  vigorous 
attack. 

Until  now  we  had  not  been  in  battle  formation.  We 
had  only  compacted  our  lines  on  the  hillside,  as  if  to  make 
room  in  the  rear  for  others.  But  under  urgent  orders  we  at 
once  formed  in  order  for  defense,  double-quick.  The  First 
Brigade  took  position  on  the  right  of  the  road,  and  the  Third 
Brigade  on  the  left.  Our  brigade  (the  Second)  was  sta- 
tioned in  the  rear,  in  support  of  the  others,  on  ground  just 
vacated  by  troops  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps.  Their  partially 
completed  breastworks  we  worked  like  beavers  to  strengthen. 

Almost  immediately  our  First  and  Third  Brigades  were 
furiously  assailed.  The  rebels  swept  in  the  skirmish  line  with 
their  line  of  battle.  Both  musketry  and  artillery  opened  in 
heavy  volleys  from  the  start.  Very  soon  the  wounded  began 
to  come  back,  and  it  was  not  long  before  we  were  expecting 
orders  to  advance  to  the  assistance  of  the  first  line,  or  to  see 
them  withdraw  to  the  rear  of  our  position.  As  the  battle 
raged  it  seemed  to  be  heaviest  on  our  left,  where  Ward's  and 
Geary's  divisions  were.  But  our  First  and  Third  Brigades 
were  also  firing  volley  after  volley,  without  cessation. 

Among  other  riderless  horses  that  we  observed  at  length, 
running  at  large,  was  one  that  we  all  recognized  as  being  Gen- 
eral Knipe's,  the  commander  of  the  First  Brigade.      The  report 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  519 

naturally  passed  along  the  line  that  General  Knipe  had  been 
killed.  This  was  soon  disproved  by  his  coming  back  himself. 
He  was  on  foot.  His  horse  had  been  so  badly  wounded  that 
he  considered  it  unsafe  to  ride  it.  He  had  therefore  dismounted 
and  turned  it  loose.  His  errand  bick  was  to  secure  one  regi- 
ment to  come  to  his  assistance.  The  enemy,  he  said,  was 
threatening  his  right  flank,  by  passing  down  a  ravine  between 
his  right  regiment  and  the  left  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps. 

General  Knipe  was  enquiring  for  General  \Villiams  ;  but 
General  Hooker  being  present,  while  General  Williams  was  not 
present,  Hooker,  after  some  parley,  gave  Knipe  verbal  orders 
to  take  the  Twenty-seventh.  To  reach  the  desired  position  it 
was  necessary  for  us  to  cross  an  open  space  of  sixty  or  seventy- 
five  yards,  where  the  regiment  would  be  exposed  to  a  cross 
fire  at  close  range.  General  Knipe  and  Colonel  Colgrove 
therefore  pointed  out  the  place  were  the  men  were  to  form. 
It  was  along  the  remnant  of  a  fence  bordering  a  ravine.  They 
were  instructed  to  make  a  dash  for  the  point  indicated,  with- 
out regard  to  order,  and,  once  there,  to  open  fire  and  hold  the 
position  at  all  hazards.  At  the  word  of  command,  the  Twen- 
ty-seventh cleared  the  opening  in  eager  precipitation,  and 
were  speedily  taking  part  in  the  fray. 

The  situation  was  the  same  as  it  usually  was  on  both  sides 
during  the  war.  A  former  colonel  of  a  Mississippi  cavalry  reg- 
iment related  to  the  writer  after  the  war,  that  General  Forrest, 
at  a  certain  battle,  said  to  him  when  he  reported  for  orders, 
"It  don't  matter  where  you  put  your  regiment  in.  Colonel, 
there's  good  fighting  anywhere  along  the  line."  So  it  was  here. 
The  only  difiiculty  was  that  there  was  not  space  enough  as- 
signed to  the  Twenty-seventh  for  all  the  men  to  get  into  line. 
They  did,  therefore,  as  men  sometimes  do  in  forts,  but  what 
we  never  did  at  any  other  time  :  Those  not  able  to  get  posi- 
tion in  the  front  line  loaded  their  muskets  and  handed  them 
to  those  before  them  to  fire. 

To  the  left  there  was  open  ground,  but  in  front  and  to  the 
right  there  was  a  jungle  of  trees  and  bushes.  In  the  latter, 
the  enemy  could  approach  very  near  without  being  observed. 
The  assault  was  very  persistent.  When  compelled  to  fall  back, 
the  rebels  would  immediately  reform  and  return  to  the  attack, 
or  others  would  return  in  their  stead.  It  appeared  to  us  that 
they  would  only  retire  into  the  thicket  a  short  distance  and 
then    return   again.     In  fact,  we  were   often    the   victims  of  a 


520 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


damaging  fire  of  musketry  when  we  could  see  no  enemy.  For 
this  reason,  orders  were  eventually  given  to  continue  firing 
into  the  dense  woods,  even  after  the  enemy  had  retired  and 
were  not  in  sight.  Tlie  men  who  loaded  and  fired  their  own 
muskets  exclusively  used  over  a  hundred  rounds  of  cartridges. 
Some  used  many  more  than  that.  The  engagement  continued 
until  fairly  dark,  when  the  enemy  withdrew  finally. 

Our  loss,  though  severe,  was  again  less  than  we  had  been 
accustomed  to.  It  was  four  killed  and  thirty-six  wounded. 
Among  the  latter  was  Colonel  Colgrove.  An  unexploded 
shell,  which  otherwise  would  have  passed  harmlessly  over, 
struck  the  limb  of  a  tree  and  glanced  downward.  The  colonel 
was  at  the  time  reclining  on  his  side,  in  rear  of  the  regiment. 
The  shell  struck  under  him,  passing  between  his  arm  and 
bod}'.      Such  was  its  terrific  force  that  it  lifted  him  up  several 


Col.  Colgrove's  sword,  struck  by  cannon  ball  at  Peach  Tree 
Creek.  Presented  by  the  Colonel  to  John  Bresnahan, 
Washington,  D.  C. 


feet  and  whirled  him  over  and  over.  It  was  strange  that  he 
was  not  killed,  but  he  was  hurt  more  seriously  than  the  first 
examination  indicated.  Besides  the  injury  to  his  arm.  a  con- 
tusion developed  in  his  side,  which,  sloughing  off,  made  a 
desperate  wound.  He  finally  recovered,  thougli  he  never 
again  commanded  the  old  regiment.  The  sword  the  Colonel 
was  wearing  at  the  time  he  has  since  presented  to  Comrade 
Bresnahan,  formerly  of  Company  A,  now  residing  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  It  bears  the  marks  of  the  tremendous  force  of 
the  blow,  being  bent  and  twisted  like  a  piece  of  tin  or  scrap- 
iron  that  has  passed  through  a  hot  fire. 


TWENTV-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  521 

A  party  of  former  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  in- 
cluding the  writer,  visited  the  battlefield  of  Peach  Tree  Creek 
in  September,  1895.  After  some  difficulty,  they  found  the 
exact  spot  where  the  regiment  was  engaged.  The  entrench- 
ments, dug  the  night  after  the  battle,  substantially  where  the 
line  had  been  during  its  progress,  served  as  the  best  guide  to 
identification.  The  ground  had  not  been  improved,  and  the 
old  parapet  remained  very  clearly  marked.  The  graves  where 
we  buried  our  dead  comrades  at  the  close  of  the  battle  were 
also  distinctly  visible,  though  apparently  empty.  The  slabs 
of  sandstone  which  we  set  up  for  headstones  were  still  in 
place.  We  inferred  that  the  bodies  had  been  removed  to  the 
National  Cemetery. 

Our  location  during  the  battle  was  about  a  fourth  of  a  mile 
east  of  the  old  Atlanta  and  Howell's  Mill  road,  and  immedi- 
ately east  of  the  first  deep  ravine  in  that  direction.  It  was 
this  ravine  that  was  on  our  right  while  we  were  engaged.  A 
branch  of  it  also  curved  eastward  and  partially  covered  our 
front.  The  ground  between  this  ravine  and  the  above  road 
was  occupied  bv  men  from  the  Fourteenth  Corps. 

Of  course,  many  circumstances  of  the  battle  were  vividly 
recalled.  The  facts  relating  to  the  Twent3'-seventh  being 
ordered  in  were  distinctly  remembered.  They  were  as  follows  : 
While  we  were  lying  in  reserve,  with  our  brigade,  not  long 
after  we  had  seen  General  Knipe's  riderless  horse  and  heard 
the  report  that  the  general  had  been  killed,  the  general  him- 
self came  hurrying  back  from  the  front.  He  was  a  mercurial, 
demonstrative  little  man  always  ;  but  now  he  was  wrought  up 
more  than  common.  He  was  frantic.  A\'ithout  appearing  to 
address  himself  to  an}*  one  in  particular,  he  inquired  for  Gen- 
eral Williams,  and  added  that  he  wanted  a  regiment  to  support 
his  right  flank.  His  line  was  in  danger  of  being  turned,  and 
his  own  Forty-sixth  Pennsylvania  was  suft'ering  badly.  These 
facts  were  stated  in  loud,  impassioned  tones,  and  with  many 
vigorous  gesticulations.  General  Hooker  was  sitting  on  his 
horse  so  near  the  Twenty-seventh  that  his  voice  could  be 
easily  heard,  without  his  speaking  loud.  Shells  were  whistling 
and  screaming  everywhere,  and  minie  balls  frequently  found 
their  way  over  to  us,  but  he  was  as  calm  and  self-poised  as  if 
he  had  been  resting  in  the  shade,  bordering  a  Xortliern  harvest 
field. 

When     he    found    what    Knipe    wanted    he    turned    and 


f>'2'2  IIISTOUV    OF    THE 

pointed  to  a  regiment  near  by  and  said,  "There,  General 
Knipe,  take  that  one."  "  No-o,  no-o,  I  don't  want  that  one," 
Knipe  fairly  screamed,  with  long  drawn  emphasis  on  the  noes. 
In  the  meantime  he  had  not  stopped,  but  had  hurried  by,  still 
calling  for  General  Williams.  Hooker  called,  "  Here,  Gen- 
eral Knipe,  General  Knipe!  come  here!"  Knipe  did  not 
hear,  or  affect  to  hear,  at  first,  and  one  of  Hooker's  staff 
started  after  him,  calling  him  to  come  back.  Knipe  finally 
turned  and  came  back  a  few  steps.  Hooker  this  time  pointed 
to  the  Twenty-seventh  and  said  laconically,  "  Take  that  one." 
"  All  right!"  said  Knipe,  "  I'll  take  that  one,"  still  speaking 
in  high  tones  and  drawing  out  his  words.  Then,  coming  up 
to  the  regiment,  as  the  men  had  fallen  in  ranks,  he  shrieked, 
"  Twenty-seventh  Indiana,  I  want  you.  This  old  brigade 
never  has  been  whipped,  and  it  never  will  be  whipped." 
After  which  followed  what  has  been  narrated. 

Another  incident  was  recalled,  which  occurred  later,  and 
in  which  General  Knipe  figured  also  somewhat  humorously. 
He  passed  in  rear  of  the  Twenty -seventh  while  we  were  hotly 
engaged.  He  was  still  afoot  and  carrying  his  sword  in  his 
hand,  unsheathed,  as  it  had  been  before.  He  was  also  in  his 
high  state  of  excitement  and  was  urging  and  encouraging  the 
men,  with  all  his  former  demonstrativeness  and  energy.  A 
sergeant  of  the  Twenty-seventh  said  in  very  bland  tones,  "  Gen- 
eral, have  you  any  chewing  tobacco?"  "Yes,  I  have  some 
tobacco,"  the  general  replied,  in  the  same  high-keyed,  long- 
drawn  tone.  And,  jabbing  his  sword  in  the  ground,  with 
great  energy,  he  produced  from  his  breeches  pocket  a  small 
piece  of  "  plug,"  and  handed  it  to  the  sergeant.  The  latter 
began  turning  it  over  and  "  sizing  it  up,"  as  the  boys  now  say, 
trying  to  decide  whether  or  not  there  was  too  much  of  it  for 
one  good  chew.  When  the  general  saw  what  the  sergeant  was 
about  he  said  in  a  perfectly  natural,  though,  plaintive,  tone, — 
all  of  his  strained,  keyed-up  condition  entirely  gone, — "  T/ia/'s 
all  Pve goty  All  the  boys  in  hearing  laughed  heartily,  the 
sergeant  took  out  his  knife,  cut  the  tobacco  in  two  parts,  put 
one  in  his  mouth  and  handed  the  other  back  to  the  general, 
who  thereupon  pulled  his  sword  out  of  the  ground  and  went 
on  his  way. 

The  boys  making  this  visit  could  not  fail  to  remem- 
ber how  thick  the  rebel  dead  laid  in  our  front  after  the  battle 
was  over,  particularly  in    the  small    ra\ine    near  our  line,  and 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  528 

on  the  slopes  beyond  it.  In  front  of  both  the  Forty-sixth  and 
Twenty-seventh,  dead  bodies  frequently  lay  across  each  other. 
Neither  could  the  piteous  moans  and  complaints  of  the 
wounded,  continuing  all  through  the  night,  fail  to  come  to 
mind.  The  vacant  cabins  before  mentioned,  which  were 
now  on  our  left,  were  used  as  field  hospitals.  One  or  two  of 
the  rebel  wounded  which  had  been  carried  there  were  loud 
and  instant  in  their  outcries. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Fesler's  ofKcial  report  of  this  battle, 
entire,  is  as  follows  :  "July  20th,  at  Peach  Tree  Run.  Col- 
onel Colgrove  was  ordered  by  General  Ruger  to  take  a  posi- 
tion on  the  right  of  General  Knipe's  brigade.  It  was  done 
with  some  difficulty,  as  the  enemy  was  about  to  get  on  Gen- 
eral Knipe's  right  flank  before  the  regiment  could  get  the 
position  ordered.  Soon  after  getting  in  position  Colonel  Col- 
grove was  severely  wounded,  and  the  command  of  the  regi- 
ment devolved  on  me.  About  10  P.  M.  the  enem^^  fell  back, 
taking  their  killed  and  wounded  with  them.  The  loss  in  my 
regiment  was  four  killed  and  ten  wounded."  Colonel  Fesler 
did  as  much  towards  suppressing  the  rebellion  as  most  men  in 
his  station  in  the  army,  but  it  was  not  done  by  writing  official 
reports,  after  the  battles  were  over. 

General  Williams  gives  such  a  clear  and  easily  understood 
discription  of  the  field,  and  particularizes  concerning  the  bat- 
tle in  such  an  interesting  way,  that  his  report  is  quoted  at 
length.      He  says  : 

"  The  division  crossed  the  creek  early  in  the  morning  and,  passing 
through  Geary's  division,  followed  a  farm  road  along  a  wooded  ridge, 
which  intersects  the  Howell's  Mill  (or  Paice's  Ferry)  road  at  the  house  of 
H.  Embry.  At  this  pomt  the  enemy  had  established  a  large  post,  strongly 
entrenched.  The  head  of  my  column  having  reached  a  group  of 
deserted  houses  about  600  yards  from  Embry's,  I  was  ordered  by 
the  major-general  commanding  the  corps  to  halt.  Knipe's  brig- 
ade was  massed  on  the  right,  and  Robinson's  on  the  left  of  the 
road.  Ruger's  brigade,  in  the  rear,  was  moved  to  the  right  to  connect 
with  the  Fourteenth  Corps.  Later  in  the  day  Geary's  division  was 
brought  up  on  my  left.  One  brigade  occupied  an  eminence  separated 
from  my  position  by  a  deep,  wooded  hollow  or  ravine,  which,  passing 
between  our  positions,  turned  to  the  left  behind  Geary's  advanced  bri- 
gade, and  terminated  in  the  openground,  where  wasposted  one  of  Ward's 
division.  One  of  Geary's  brigades  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  occupied  by 
his  advance  and  near  the  lower  end  of  this  ravine.  A  similar  ravine,  but 
of  less  depth,  lay  between  my  position  and  the  Fourteenth  Corps,  which, 
having  somewhat  refused  its  left,  was  constructing  rifle-pits  at  an  angle  to 
the  ridge  I  occupied,  and  considerably  to  the  right  and  rear.     My  whole 


524  HISTORY    OK    THE 

front  was  covered  by  dense  woods  and  thickets.  About  3:30  P.  M.  I  was 
in  the  act  of  advancing  a  section  of  artillery  and  a  strong  reserve  to  the 
skirmish  line,  for  the  purpose  of  dislodging  the  enemy  from  his  breast- 
works at  Embry's  house,  when  heavy  volleys  of  musketry,  commencing 
on  the  right  of  the  Fourth  Corps,  and  rolling  in  an  increased  volume 
toward  my  position,  warned  me  that  the  enemy  were  attacking  in  force. 
I  immediately  ordered  Knipe  to  deploy  his  briga  de  at  double  quick  across 
the  ridge  in  advance  of  the  group  of  houses,  and  Robinson  to  extend  from 
Knipe's  left,  along  a  farm  road,  on  the  north  edge  of  the  ravine,  to  con- 
nect with  Geary  and  cover  the  ravine.  Ruger's  brigade  was  held  in 
reserve  to  await  the  development  of  the  attack.  *****  Hardly 
had  these  dispositions  been  made  before  the  enemy  advanced  upon  us  in 
great  force,  driving  in  our  skirmishers  with  his  line  of  battle,  and,  under 
cover  of  the  thickets  and  undergrowth,  coming  close  upon  our  lines 
before  being  seen.  His  main  attack  was  along  the  ridge  in  the  direction 
of  Embry's  house,  but  strong  columns  were  sent  down  the  ravine  upon 
the  right  and  left.  That  on  the  right,  passing  my  flank  unseen,  fell  upon 
the  left  regiments  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps.  Finding  from  the  enemy's 
fire  that  he  was  moving  down  the  right  ravine,  I  ordered  a  regiment  (the 
Twenth-seventh  Indiana  A'olunteers)  from  Ruger's  brigade,  to  re-enforce 
Knipe's  right.  This  regiment,  with  one  wing  of  the  Forty-sixth  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers,  on  Knipe's  right,  speedily  checked  and  drove  back  the 
enemy  on  this  flank,  and  held  the  ground  until' the  close  of  the  action. 
In  the  left  ravine  the  enemy  advanced  in  stronger  force  and,  pushing  his 
way  down  to  the  lower  end,  momentarily  forced  back  a  brigade  of  the 
Second  Division.  He  suffered  severely,  however,  for  his  temerity.  The 
fire  of  Robinson's  brigade  swept  across  the  lower  and  through  the  upper 
protion  of  the  ravine,  while  the  brigade  of  the  Second  Division,  rallying 
across  the  lower  end,  poured  volleys  through  half  its  length.  A  section 
of  Woodbury's  light  twelve's,  throwing  canister,  helped  much  to  expel 
the  enemy  from  this  part  of  the  field. 

In  the  meantime,  Knipe's  brigade,  in  the  center,  had  heroically  with- 
stood and  thrown  back  several  repeated  assaults.  *  *  *  *  I  cannot 
too  strongly  praise  the  conduct  of  my  division  on  this  occasion.  Not  a 
regiment  was  broken  or  shaken,  but  without  cover  and  in  a  fair  field,  a 
little  over  two-thirds  of  my  command  received  and  rolled  back  the 
repeated  assaults  of  a  numerically  superior  and  confident  force  of  the 
enemy.     Prisoners  were  taken  from  two  different  corps." 

This  Battle  of  Peach  Tree  Creek  proved  to  be  the  last 
battle,  worthy  of  the  name,  that  the  Twenty  seventh  was  to 
participate  in.  Several  of  our  boy.s  were  yet  to  be  killed  and 
still  more  wotmded,  but  the  Twentieth  Corps  did  not  again 
confront  the  enemy  in  serious  battle  while  the  Twenty-seventh 
remained  in  it  as  an  organization. 

As  the  regiment  had  an  honorable  share  in  all  the  glory 
won  here,  it  may  be  worthy  of  remark  that  this  was  one  of  the 
conspucious  examples,  of  which  there  were  many  others,  fur- 
nished   by  other    troops    in    this   campaign,  showing   that    the 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


525 


Union  army  had  come  to  be,  if  it  was  not  so  from  the  start, 
different  from  any  other  army  known  to  history,  in  that  it 
could  not  be  stampeded,  or  panic  stricken,  by  sudden  and 
unlooked-for  attacks,  even  though  they  came  in  great  force 
and  from  the  flank  or  rear.     This  man  Hood,  who  had   com- 


> 


'.  .^    .ft-  ! 


-    .-     S  ». 


.9   , 


> 

H 


'';  ■'■A  1 1%'  >t  'f '  //,  ,*r. 


^KC^O^^ 


0^2iM 


-^^ 


manded  one  of  the  corps  of  the  rebel  army  since  the  beginning 
of  this  campaign,  was  now  in  supreme  command,  iiaving 
superseded  Johnston  only  a  few  days  prior  to  this  battle. 
He  had   formerly   been   in   the    rebel   army   in    \'irginia.      His 


526  HISTORY    OF    THE 

troops  were  in  our  immediate  vicinity  at  Antietam.  He  had 
failed  to  see  that  the  success  of  Jackson's  flank  attacks  had 
been  more  apparent  than  real;  and  further,  that  their  apparent 
success  was  because  of  the  weakness  and  lack  of  co-operation 
among  the  higher  officials  on  our  side,  rather  than  because 
large  bodies  of  soldiers  were  at  fault.  As  we  have  seen,  he 
tried  this  species  of  tactics  several  times  while  this  campaign 
progressed,  always  with  disasterous  results  to  his  cause.  Now 
that  he  had  a  wider  field  he  was  destined  to  persist  in  his 
infatuation  until  his  army  was  largely  sacrificed.  His 
experience  here  should  have  convinced  him,  as  it  was  calcu- 
lated to  convince  anyone,  that  he  was  the  victim  of  a  delusion. 
These  Union  soldiers  would  not  give  ground  when  properly 
commanded,  and  could  not  be  forced  to  do  so,  unless  they 
were  fairly  whipped.  The  enemy  might  come  at  an  unex- 
pected time,  or  from  an  unexpected  quarter,  all  that  was  needed 
was  to  give  them  a  reasonable  chance,  and  they  would  fight 
at  one  time,  or  facing  in  one  direction,  as  well  as  another. 

General  Knipe  well  says  :  "  This  fight  was  a  fair  stand-up 
fight,  neither  party  having  protection  in  the  shape  of  breast- 
works," Had  it  not  been  for  alert,  competent  commanders 
our  army  would  have  been  in  no  position  for  defense.  As  it 
was,  some  parts  of  it  were  caught  in  flank,  others  were  caught 
in  isolatedpositions,  and  the  assault  upon  all  was  preconcerted, 
sudden  and  furious.  Yet  very  slight  were  the  advantages 
even  temporarily  gained.  Along  our  entire  division  front  not 
a  man  wavered.  The  first  lines,  formed  in  great  haste,  with- 
out any  previous  opportunity  to  study  relative  positions,  were 
mantained  to  the  end.  Reinforcements  were  not  called  for, 
except  to  fill  gaps,  left  open  by  an  oversight,  and  reserves  were 
not  brought  into  action.  Of  all  things,  there  was  no  encourage- 
ment here  for  rebel  leaders  to  adopt  "  Jackson  tactics  "  in  the 
future. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


THE  LAST  MONTH. 

The  21st  of  July  was  spent  by  the  Twenty-seventh  on  the 
same  ground  where  we  had  stood  during  the  Battle  of  Peach 
Tree  Creek,  and  where  we  had  also  spent  the  night.  In  the 
night  we  built  a  good  line  of  breastworks,  which  we  strength- 
ened and  perfected  after  daylight.  We  next  buried  our  own 
dead  and  those  of  the  eneniv  nearest  to  us.  The  wounded  had 
been  mostly  cared  for  by  others  before  this,  except  a  few  of 
the  enemy,  that  had  fallen  in  obscure  places.  These  were 
carefully  looked  after  to-day. 

On  the  2'2d,  the  Twentieth  Corps  advanced  up  close  to 
the  enemy's  main  line  of  defenses,  north  of  the  city  of  Atlanta. 
The  skirmishers  met  with  some  resistance  in  this  advance,  but 
there  was  no  severe  fighting  along  our  front.  A  line  of  works 
was  finally  constructed  bv  us,  under  fire  of  both  musketrv  and 
artillery. 

This  was  the  day  on  which  occurred  the  severe  engage- 
ment known  as  the  Battle  of  Atlanta.  It  was  brought  on  by 
a  large  part  of  the  rebel  army  making  a  circuit  around  the 
flank  of  the  Union  army  and  assaulting  it  from  the  Hank  and 
rear.  The  battlefield  was  east  and  southeast  of  the  city,  and 
some  four  or  i\ve  miles  from  our  position. 

The  troops  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Atlanta  on  the  I'nion 
side  mostly  belonged  to  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee.  General 
McPherson,  the  popular  and  brilliant  commander  of  that  army, 
was  killed  early  in  the  action.  His  untimely  death  was  greatly 
deplored.  The  rebel  assault,  coming  from  the  direction  it  did, 
was  unlocked  for,  and  was  impetuous  and  persevering,  but  it 
was  signally  repulsed.  In  its  final  issue  this  battle  was  a  very 
positive  Union  victory. 

The  Army  of  the  Tennessee  fully  maintained  its  record 
in  the  battle  of  Atlanta.  Notwithstanding  that  its  defenses 
were  "turned,"'  which  means  that  the  enemy  approached 
from  an  cntirelv  difierent  direction  from  which  its  defences 
had  faced,  the    men  of  that  army  simply  climbed  over   on  the 


528  HISTORY    OF    THE 

opposite  side  of  their  defenses,  and  bravely  stood  their  ground. 
They  did  more  than  this.  Later  in  the"  battle,  other  rebel 
troops  came  out  of  Atlanta,  from  the  direction  that  they  had 
been  expected  originally,  and  attacked  the  men  engaged  on 
our  side.  Our  soldiers  were  thus  between  two  fires,  and  the 
fact  seems  clearly  established  that  some  of  them  sustained  two 
assaults  at  the  same  time,  coming  from  opposite  directions, 
and  successfully  repelled  both.  That  was  the  kind  of  men 
that  were  marching  under  the  old  flag  at  this  time  ! 

It  was  believed  by  many  that  the  Twentieth  Corps  might 
have  broken  into  Atlanta  during  this  battle  of  the  22d  of  July. 
Skirmishers  from  our  brigade  advanced  up  closer  to  the  city, 
and  with  less  apparent  resistance,  than  was  the  case  at  any 
other  time,  previous  to  the  final  evacuation  of  the  place.  It  is 
not  improbable  that,  in  the  absence  of  a  large  part  of  the  rebel 
army,  a  determined  assault,  at  the  right  point,  might  have 
succeeded.  The  rebel  generals  frequently  took  great  risks,  in 
stripping  one  part  of  their  line  to  strengthen  another  part. 
The  trouble  on  our  side  in  this  case  was  to  find  the  weak  point 
and  to  get  the  necessary  troops  into  position  to  assault  it,  in 
the  short  time  allowed,  strangers  to  the  locality,  as  all  of  our 
generals  were. 

On  the  28d,  the  situation  had  again  become  normal.  The 
enemy  had  taken  a  position  behind  a  strong  line  of  works.  All 
day  long  there  was  a  ceaseless  cracking  and  banging  of  mus- 
kets and  the  regular  booming  of  cannon. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th,  John  K.  Whetstine,  of  Com- 
pany G,  was  killed  while  the  pickets  were  being  relieved.  It 
was  the  order  to  relieve  the  pickets  before  daylight,  but  for 
some  reason  there  was  a  slight  delay  and  it  cost  a  worthy 
soldier  his  life. 

On  the  25th,  there  was  a  noticeable  increase  in  the  inten- 
sity of  the  artillery  fire,  heavier  guns  being  brought  into  use. 
During  the  dav  and  after  nightfall  there  seemed  to  be  exten- 
sive conflagrations  in  Atlanta,  kindled,  as  we  supposed,  by  the 
fire  of  our  heavy  guns.  Just  before  dark  the  Twenty-seventh 
relieved  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-sixth  Xew  York  at 
the  front,  in  a  slight  rain. 

The  27th  of  July  was  the  Thirteenth  New  Jersey's  day. 
They  were  assigned  the  duty  that  day  of  abating  a  nuisance 
that  had  been  the  occasion  of  considerable  annoyance  and  loss. 
Between  the  picket    lines   of   the   two  armies    stood   a    house 


TWENTY-SEVEXTII    INDIANA.  529 

where  rebel  sharpshooters  could  secrete  themselves  and  have  a 
good  shot  at  whoever  might  expose  himself  on  our  side.  The 
Thirteenth  was  ordered  to  sally  our  and  seize  the  house,  cap- 
ture those  who  were  in  it,  and  burn  it  to  the  ground.  This 
they  did  most  handsomely,  in  plain  sight  of  both  armies.  The 
facility  and  dispatch  with  which  they  gathered  in  those  sharp- 
shooters and  set  fire  to  the  house,  was  well  worthy  of  the 
tumultuous  applause  that  they  received.  The  enemy  did  not 
seem  to  comprehend  what  was  intended  until  they  saw  the 
smoke  ascending  skyward.  They  then  opened  with  their 
artillery  with  great  fierceness,  but  without  avail.  The  Thir- 
teenth pluckily  held  its  ground  until  the  complete  destruction 
of  the  building  was  assured,  when  it  withdrew  in  good  order. 
Fifteen  prisoners  were  captured.  The  brigade  provost  mar- 
shal records  that  this  made  a  total  of  G9  prisoners  captured  by 
the  brigade,  up  to  that  time  in  the  month. 

On  the  28th,  we  first  heard  of  General  Hooker's  resigna- 
tion of  the  command  of  the  Twentieth  Corps.  He  did  this 
because  General  Howard  was  appointed  to  succeed  General 
]McPherson  as  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee. 
Howard  had  formerly  served  as  a  corps  commander  under 
Hooker  and  the  latter  now  resented  the  idea  of  having  the 
former  given  a  higher  command  than  he  himself  exercised. 
General  Hooker  had  won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the 
soldiers  of  all  ranks  in  the  Twentieth  Corps  during  the  prog- 
ress of  the  campaign,  but  if  any  tears  were  shed  in  the 
Twenty-seventh  over  his  departure  they  were  quickly  dried 
when  it  was  announced  that  General  Slocum  was  to  return 
to  the  corps.  Though  General  Hooker  possessed  some  bril- 
liant gifts,  and  is  entitled  to  some  credit  for  what  he  did  in 
suppressing  the  rebellion,  impartial  history  will  not  accord 
him  a  place  of  great  eminence,  either  as  a  soldier  or  a  man. 

On  the  29th  of  July  a  step  was  taken  which  was  re- 
peated frequently  later.  This  was  a  sudden  dash  forward  by 
the  picket  line,  the  object  being  to  seize  and  hold  ground 
closer  up  to  the  enemy's  main  line.  To  accomplish  this  it 
was  necessary  to  rout  or  capture  their  picket  line.  At  this 
time  the  coveted  ground  was  taken  and  held  and  one  hundred 
prisoners  were  captured. 

The  method  adopted  in  this  case  and  in  others  was  sub- 
stantially the  same.  At  a  preconcerted  signal  our  picket  line 
leaped  from  its  cover  and  rushed  forward  to  the  point  desig- 

34 


580  HISTORY    OF    THE 

nated,  which  in  this  instance  was  the  riilepits  of  tlie  enemy's 
pickets.  With  as  little  ceremony  as  delay  our  men  precip- 
itated themselves  into  the  midst  of  the  occupants  of  those 
riflepits.  They  fired  at  us  when  they  first  saw  us  cominsj,  but 
their  aim  was  too  hasty  to  be  effectual,  a  thing  that  had 
been  definitely  counted  upon.  Before  they  could  reload  we 
were  upon  them,  and  our  muskets  being  still  loaded,  they 
could  do  nothing  but  surrender.  The  surprising  thing  about 
these  episodes  was  the  slight  casualty,  commonly  attending 
them.  To-day  one  hundred  men,  supposed  to  be  on  their 
guard,  with  loaded  muskets  in  their  hands,  were  rushed  upon 
and  captured,  in  open  daylight,  without  their  taking  any- 
body's life. 

After  the  ground  was  once  gained  by  these  sudden  dashes, 
the  next  thing  was  to  hold  it.  At  this  point  soldiers  became 
gophers.  With  amazing  dexterity  and  speed  they  dug  holes 
for  themseves  in  the  ground,  with  picks  and  spades  ;  some 
would  do  the  digging,  while  others,  with  their  muskets,  at- 
tended to  the  enemy.  In  an  incredibly  short  time  quite  secure 
rifle  pits  were  ready. 

The  enemy,  stationed  further  back,  usually  pelted  men 
occupied  in  this  way  with  all  the  fury  possible,  using  both 
musketry  and  artillery.  Frequently  they  advanced  a  line  by 
way  of  a  counter  charge.  Sometimes  they  drove  our  skir- 
mishers back  bv  these  means,  though  not  often.  With  the  help 
of  batteries  and  sharpshooters  in  our  rear,  we  generally  held 
the  positions  once  gained.  After  we  had  gained  the  advanced 
position  to-day  and  had  entrenched,  a  well  aimed  shell  pene- 
trated a  rifle  pit  containing  five  Twenty-seventh  men,  wound- 
ing one  of  them.  The  other  four  abandoned  the  pit  under 
musketry  fire  at  close  range,  but  all  escaped  unhurt. 

From  this  time  until  the  25th  of  August,  almost  a  month, 
operations  similar  to  those  mentioned  iieretofore,  and  such  as 
usually  pertain  to  a  siege,  went  steadily  forward.  The  posi- 
tion of  the  Twenty-seventh  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Howell's  Mill  wagon  road,  north  of  the  city.  Near  this  road, 
on  the  east  side,  the  enemy  had  a  formidable  earth-work,  or 
fort,  with  outlying  breast- works  and  rifle  pits.  We  persist- 
ently worked  up  towards  this  fortification.  At  the  end  of  the 
time  named,  our  advanced  rifle  pits  were  in  short  musket 
range  of  it,  so  close  that  its  heavy  guns  were  silenced  for  the 
most    part.      On    this    advanced  line   there    was   almost   con- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


581 


stant  musket  firing  and  the  exposure  was  considerable.  Two 
of  our  men,  Thomas  F.  Pratt,  of  Company  F,  and  George  \V. 
Stout,  of  Company  B,  were  killed  during  this  period.  A  num- 
ber of  others  were  wounded.  Back  of  this  line  was  another, 
not  so  exposed,  and  farther  back  still  was  a  third,  where  men 
were  comparativelysafe.  Against  artillery  tire,  however,  men 
were  not  safe  anywhere.  Details  sometimes  of  entire  regi- 
ments and  sometimes  of  smaller  commands,  took  turns  in 
occupying  the  most  exposed  lines. 

The  month  of  August  was  not  as  hot  as  July  had 
been.  Some  days  the  sun  blazed  upon  us  without  mercy,  but 
others  were  more  tolerable,  and  the    nights    were  comfortable. 


Sample  of  Atlanta  Breastworks. 


In  parts  of  our  breast-works  we  arranged  a  cover  of  brush 
with  the  leaves  on.  This  enhanced  our  comfort  very  much.  In 
some  instances  these  shades  were  ordered  down.  Those  issu- 
ing orders  in  the  army  did  not  always  think  it  necessary  to 
give  reasons  for  them.  In  this  instance  we  supposed  it  was 
because  the  enemy  would  know,  when  they  saw  us  arranging 
things  so  comfortably,  that  we  did  not  contemplate  anv 
aggressive  movement  with  respect  to  themselves.  Of  all 
things  they  must  have  no  rest. 

The  most  difficult   problem   with   respect   to  our  personal 
comfort  da3'  after  day   was,    how    to   get   sufficient  sleep?     In 


532  HISTORY    OF    THE 

addition  to  picket  duty,  or  watchino;  in  the  advance  rifle-pits, 
where  all  sleep  was  wholly  out  of  the  question,  much  of  our 
other  duty  was  done  at  night.  The  pickets  were  relieved, 
and  most  of  the  going  back  and  forth  from  the  rear  to  any 
advanced  position,  had  to  be  done  while  it  was  dark.  All  of 
these  matters  caused  more  or  less  disturbance,  and  materially 
interfered  with  the  sleeping  hours,  not  only  of  those  who 
were  doing  the  duty,  but  of  others  as  well.  Then,  alamis 
were  of  almost  nightly  occurrence.  If  they  did  not  reach  the 
point  of  a  call  to  arms,  requiring  all  of  us  to  fall  into  line  and 
remain  so  until  the  danger  had  passed,  they  still  resulted  in 
every  man  being  awake.  As  to  sleep  in  daytime,  myriads 
upon  myriads  of  flies,  enterprising,  hungry,  and  venemous 
beyond  description,  swarmed  in  our  camps  like  an  Egyptian 
plague  and  rendered  any  attempt  to  do  that  a  period  of  veri- 
table torture.  That  Atlanta  was  finally  taken  was  not  the 
fault  of  the  flies  and  other  pests  of  the  region.  They  did 
their  full  share  towards  defending  it. 

It  w^as  a  mystery  to  us  at  the  time  what  governed  the 
firing  of  artillery  during  this  siege.  General  Sherman  and 
others  have  explained  some  of  it  subsequently,  but  much  of  it 
will  doubtless  never  be  accounted  for.  At  any  hour,  day  or 
night,  one  side  or  the  other  was  liable  to  open  up  a  furious 
cannonade.  Perhaps,  just  before  dawn  some  morning,  or  at 
some  other  hour  through  the  night,  or,  it  may  be,  at  some 
hour  through  the  day,  the  rebel  artillery  would  suddenly  begin, 
and,  for  a  time,  the  air  would  be  full  of  flying,  hissing,  swish- 
ing, screeching  and  bursting  missiles.  If  it  was  in  the  night, 
the  pyrotechnic  display  would  be  sublime.  At  another  time 
all  the  concomitants  would  be  the  same,  only  it  would  occur 
at  an  entirely  ditTerent  hour.  So  with  the  artillery  on  our 
own  side.  There  were  seasons  when  it  would  all  seem  to  be 
in  operation.  The  solid  earth  would  tremble  with  the  terrific 
detonations,  and  the  air  everywhere  would  become  sulphurous 
with  the  smell  of  gun-powder.  At  another  time  all  would  be 
as  quite  as  a  May  mornnig. 

During  the  most  of  the  period  that  the  siege  of  Atlanta  was 
in  progress,  the  railroad  trains  came  up  close  to  our  camps 
with  pleasant  regularity.  Supplies  averaged  as  plentiful  and 
good  in  quality  as  they  usually  did,  under  other  circumstances. 
There  were  only  a  few  days  that  the  mails  did  not  arrive  from 
the  North,   keeping  us  posted  as  to  affairs  at  home.     Occa- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  O 

sionally  our  comtnanications  were  interrupted,  for  short  inter- 
vals. But  such  was  the  machine-like  organization  of  the  army, 
and  the  marvelous  energy  and  efHciency  of  all  its  parts,  that 
these  interruptions  were  reduced  to  the  minimum,  both  as  to 
number  and  duration.  Tiiroughout  this  entire  campaign  the 
army  was  far  better  supplied  than  was  Pope's  army  in  front 
of  Washington,  in  1862.  In  the  one  case,  the  distance  from 
the  base  of  supplies  was  fifty  miles,  and  in  the  other,  five  hun- 
dred. In  the  first  instance,  there  were  fifty  thousand  men  or 
less  to  provide  for,  in  the  second,  not  less  than  one  hundred 
thousand.  Such  is  the  difference  when  every  man  does  his 
duty. 

From  about  the  17th  or  18th  of  August,  members  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  began  to  surmise  that  some  radical  change 
of  plan  was  in  contemplation.  Diaries  written  at  the  time 
make  these  disclosures  ;  and  it  is  curious  how  well  they  fit  in 
with  what  has  since  been  made  public.  At  this  precise  date 
General  vSherman  came  near  making  the  move  he  made  later, 
placing  the  Twentieth  Corps  back  at  the  Chattahoochee  river 
and,  with  the  rest  of  his  army,  seizing  the  West  Point  and 
Macon  railroads.  It  shows  how  lynx-eyed  and  quick  witted 
soldiers  became.  He  did  not  issue  definite  orders  to  this  eflPect, 
he  only  made  some  preliminary  moves  with  this  end  in  view. 
Then  certain  developments  led  him  to  try  to  accomplish  the 
same  result  in  another  way.  .Still  the  men  saw  enough  in  the 
movements  of  supply  trains  to  the  rear,  and  the  loosening  up 
and  transfer  of  other  agencies  and  conveniencies,  which  hover 
in  the  region  behind  an  army,  to  enable  them  to  divine  a  good 
part  of  the  truth.  "  Uncle  Billy,"  they  said,  "  is  about  to 
try  some  other  plan  for  getting  into  Atlanta." 

On  the  '22d  there  was  an  armistice  on  the  picket  line, 
arranged  by  the  pickets  themselves.  This  proved  to  be  the 
last  time  that  the  non-veterans  of  the  Twenty-seventh  had  the 
opportunity  of  meeting,  in  this  way,  their  friends  in  gray.  In 
fact,  this  was  designed  to  be  the  last  day  that  they  would  be 
required  to  duty  at  the  front. 

On  the  28d  the  Muster-out  Rolls  arrived,  and  the  regi- 
ment was  moved  back  into  the  third  line, — supposed  to  be  out 
of  danger. 

The  following  day  we  policed  the  camp  thoroughly,  and 
put  up  tents  in  regular  order.  This  was  on  the  principle  that 
a  man  shaves  and  puts  on  his  best  clothes  when  he  is   going 


534  HISTORY    OF    THE 

to  be  married,  or  hung,  also  when  he  is  going  to  do  nothing. 
The  boys  said  at  the  time  that  if  it  meant  anything,  it  meant 
we  were  about  to  move.  Tliey  never  had  mucli  confidence  in 
extra  preparations  to  enjoy  camp  life.  Hence,  they  were  not 
surprised  to  receive  marching  orders  that  same  night. 

This  was  the  movement  of  the  Twentieth  Corps  back  to 
the  Chattahoochee  river,  to  protect  the  bridge  there  and  pre- 
vent the  rebel  army  from  going  northward,  while  Sherman, 
with  the  balance  of  his  army,  swept  around. and  seized  the 
railroads  over  which  Atlanta  and  its  garrison  still  received 
supplies.  This  was  the  last  march  the  Twenty-seventh  ever 
made,  and  it  was  made  entirely  at  night.  The  distance  was 
not  over  eight  miles,  but  we  were  delayed  in  starting,  waiting 
for  other  troops  to  pass  our  position  and  practically  the  whole 
night  was  consumed. 

It  is  hard  for  anyone  to  realize  now  what  a  trivial  affair 
we  then  considered  such  a  march  to  be.  It  is  sometimes  said 
that  a  man  can  get  used  to  anything.  The  statement  when 
made  is  usually  intended  to  be  an  exaggeration.  The  things 
that  soldiers  did  get  used  to  doing,  however,  and  did  without 
giving  them  a  second  thought,  would  appal  them  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  To  gather  up  all  of  one's  worldly  effects,  including 
bedding,  extra  clothing,  a  part  of  a  tent,  provisions  for  sev- 
eral days,  and  most  important  of  all,  the  trusty  old  musket, 
with  its  accoutrements  and  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  rounds 
of  ammunition,  and  carrying  all  of  these,  trudge  along  hour 
after  hour,  in  the  dark,  was  then  accepted  as  a  matter  of 
course. 

The  Twentieth  Corps  took  up  a  strong  defensive  posi- 
tion, forming  a  half  circle  around  the  south  end  of  the  rail- 
road bridge  over  the  Chattahooche,  and  proceeded  to  fortify 
it  very  thoroughl}'.  Of  course  the  Twenty-seventh  went  into 
the  front  line  and  bore  its  full  share  of  the  danger  and  toil. 
There  was  nothing  else  to  do.  There  was  no  other  line, 
exept  the  front  line.  As  one  of  the  boys  wrote,  "  We  had  to 
grin  and  bear  it."  Thus  the  time  went  by  until  the  J)Oth  of 
August.  On  that  day  we  did  two  apparently  contradictory 
things.  We  first  completed  our  muster-out  rolls,  then  worked 
the  balance  of  the  day  on  the  breastworks.  Meanwhile  Gen- 
eral Slocum  had  arrived  and  assumed  command  of  the  Twen- 
tieth Corps.  When  he  rode  around  the  lines  no  regiment 
greeted  him  with  heartier   cheers  than  the    Twentty-seventh. 


TWENTY-SEVExNTH    IXDIAXA.  535 

The  few  remaining  days  that  we  had  to  serve  would  seem 
shorter,  and  attended  with  fewer  misgivings,  with  him  in 
command.  As  a  regiment  we  were  not  given  greatly  to 
hero   worship,  but  General  Slocum  suited  us  first  rate. 

During  this  month  of  August  there  were  two  develop- 
ments in  the  Twentv-seventh,  one  having  reference  to  en- 
listed men,  and  the  other  having  reference  to  commissioned 
officers,  both  of  which  awakened  no  little  interest.  The 
matter  having  reference  to  enlisted  men  was  the  date  of  their 
muster-in,  particularly  as  bearing  upon  the  date  when  their 
term  of  service  rightfully  expired. 

We  have  seen  that  one  of  our  early  experiences  in  Camp 
Morton  was  to  be  mustered  into  the  service.  It  was  the  uni- 
versal understanding  at  that  time  that  we  were  then  being 
mustered  into  the  service  for  which  we  had  enlisted,  and  that, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  our  term  of  three  years  began  then  and 
there.  All  of  the  c  rcumstances  attending  the  transaction, 
and  those  following  after  it,  were  certainly  such  as  to  give  us 
that  understanding,  as  they  must  have  been  especially  designed 
for  that  purpose.  The  mustering  officer  was  an  officer  in  the 
United  States  army,  his  questions  and  investigations  all  had 
reference  to  our  fitness  for  service  in  that  army,  the  oath 
administered  was  the  one  administered  to  United  States  sol- 
diers and  the  three-years-or-during-the-war  clause  was  in- 
cluded in  it.  On  the  other  hand,  not  a  word  was  said  or  a 
suggestion  made,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  about  any 
other  service  or  form  of  obligation.  The  conclusion  was, 
therefore,  unavoidable  that,  after  the  transaction  was  con- 
cluded, we  were  regularly  in  the  army,  and  that  our  term  of 
service  was  in  progress. 

So  it  was  considered,  not  only  by  ourselves,  but  by  others. 
It  was  definitely  held  over  our  heads  that  we  were  henceforth 
liable  to  all  the  pains  and  penalties  of  soldiers  for  any  viola- 
tion of  orders  or  regulations,  the  penalty  for  absence  without 
leave,  or  desertion,  in  particular.  Later  on.  we  were  paid 
from  that  date  and  in  descriptive  lists  and  other  papers,  that 
date   was  always  given  as  the  date  of  our  muster-in. 

But  when  the  time  drew  near  that,  according  to  this  gen- 
eral understanding,  those  first  mustered  at  Camp  Morton 
would  be  entitled  to  be  mustered  out,  the  fact  developed  from 
somewhere  that  the  date  of  muster  of  all  the  original  members 
of  the  regiment  was  registered  on  the  books  as  having   taken 


53()  HISTORY    OF    THE 

place  on  September  12th,  1861,  a  full  month  after  it  had  taken 
place,  according  to  the  foregoing  view  of  it. 

Who  had  been  instrumental  in  making  such  a  record? 
Nobody  knew.  By  whose  knowledge  or  consent  had  it  been 
made?  Nobody  pretended  that  it  was  by  the  knowledge  or 
consent  of  those  most  concerned.  What  could  be  done  about 
it?  The  officers  of  the  regiment  said  they  could  do  nothing, 
directly.  All  of  them  exercising  any  command  over  the  men 
had  succeeded  to  their  positions  long  after  the  objectionable 
record  had  been  made. 

What  course  were  the  men  to  pursue  under  the  circum- 
stances? The  writer  was  very  sick  at  this  time  and  with  him 
the  question  of  when  he  could  start  home,  was  entirely 
obscured  by  the  more  serious  one,  would  he  ever  be  able  to 
start  home?  In  reality  he  was  not  able  to  travel  until  long 
after  the  date  when  the  wrong  entry  concerning  his  muster-in 
would  have  permitted  his  muster-out.  He  feels  free,  therefore, 
to  say  that  few  things  in  the  three  years  of  unsparing,  self-sac- 
rificing service  which  these  men  gave,  in  such  a  laudable  way, 
to  their  country,  has  impressed  him  as  being  so  much  to  their 
credit  as  their  conduct  and  spirit  in  this  connection.  No 
more  convincing  proof  could  be  adduced  of  their  stalwart 
good  sense,  as  well  as  their  stalwart  patriotism,  and  their 
lofty  ambition  to  maintain  their  own  reputation,  and  that  of 
the  regiment  to  which  they  belonged,  unsullied  to  the  end. 
To  be  doomed  to  spend  another  month  in  the  trenches,  when 
they  had  been  rightfully  cherishing  an  expectation  of  an  early 
departure  for  home,  was,  in  itself,  no  trifling  matter.  Aside 
from  any  considerations  of  danger,  it  involved  deprivations,  an- 
noyances and  toils,  manifold  and  sore.  Persons  disappointed, 
through  the  fault  of  others,  in  their  reasonable  expectation  of 
reaching  home  at  an  appointed  time  do  not  commonly  accept 
the  situation  with  equinimity,  though  provided  for  in  a  good 
hotel,  and  not  altogether  destitute  of  other  comforts*.  In  com- 
parison with  instances  such  as  these,  however,  the  prospect 
before    our  Twenty-seventh  men   was    simply   overwhelming. 

With  some  being  killed  everyday — buried  an  hour  or  two 
afterwards  in  a  shallow  trench,  in  an  inhospitable  country, 
without  coffin,  shroud  or  ceremony — the  problem  assumed  a 
seriousness  many  times  multiplied.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  two 
of  the  men  here  referred  to  were  killed  after  they  had  served 
the  full  time  for  which  they  had  enlisted  and  were  more  than 


TWENTY-SEVEXTII     INDIANA.  537 

entitled  to  a  different  form  of  muster-out.  If  it  is  hard  to 
think  of  death  coming  to  one  earlier  in  his  service,  how  doubly 
hard  is  it  to  think  of  his  falling  when  his  time  has  really  ex- 
pired, and  dear  ones  are  expecting  his  return? 

But  the  desperate  feature  of  the  case  remains  to  be  men- 
tioned. That  was  the  bald,  hideous  injustice  of  the  transac- 
tion, and  the  stinging  insult  to  the  manhood  and  self-respect 
of  those  concerned.  The  hardest  thing  that  an  enlisted  man 
ever  has  to  do  in  the  army — a  thing  that  he  can  scarcely  bring 
himself  to  do  at  all — is  to  submit  in  silence,  and  go  forward 
and  do  his  duty,  when  some  palpable  wrong  is  done  him,  or 
some  unquestioned  right  is  denied  him,  in  sheer  disregard  and 
contempt  of  his  human  intelligence  and  sensibilities.  To  be 
treated  in  some  matter  vitally  affecting  himself  as  if  he  were 
nothing  but  a  dumb  animal,  a  mere  thing,  and  not  resent  it 
in  some  way,  is  far  more  trying  than  any  battle,  campaign  or 
bed  of  languishing.  Such  exasperating  indignities  are  usually  in- 
flicted by  ignorant,  thick-skulled,  low-down  wretches  that  a  man 
who  has  any  real  soldier  in  him  cannot  help  but  know  is  his 
inferior  in  every  way,  shape  and  manner  on  earth,  except  the 
purely  accidental  and  temporary  circumstance  of  rank.  To 
pass  them  by,  therefore,  without  a  conflict,  and  leave  the  future 
to  make  it  right — which  is  invariably  the  best  way — is  almost 
impossible,  with  a  soldier  of  average  courage  and  spirit.  Sol- 
diers of  all  ranks,  even  up  to  the  highest,  are  not  entirely  ex- 
empt from  such  experiences,  though  none  are  so  liable  to  have 
them,  or  quite  so  helpless  in  view  of  them,  as  a  man  in  the 
ranks.  Yet,  silent  submission  and  cheerful  obedience  consti- 
tuted the  course  decided  upon  in  this  instance.  A  detail  for 
duty  on  the  skirmish  line,  from  one  of  the  companies,  raised 
the  question  one  morning,  whether  or  not  it  was  their  duty  to 
go.  They  did  not  refuse  to  go,  they  simply  said  to  the  officer 
in  command,  "  We  have  served  out  our  time.'" 

This  was  reported,  of  course,  to  Colonel  Fesler,  and  he 
came  and  conferred  with  the  men  at  once.  In  the  end,  he  gave 
them  some  good  advice.  He  said,  in  substance,  ''  The  record 
of  your  muster-in  is  undoubtedly  erroneous,  but  none  of  us 
here  had  anything  to  do  in  making  it,  and  neither  have  we 
any  authority  to  change  or  disregard  it.  The  matter  will  be 
referred  at  once  to  those  who  have  power  over  such  matters, 
and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  they  will  act  promptly 
and  rightfully  in  the  premises.      In  the  meantime,  it  is  for  you 


538  IIISTOUY    OF    THE 

to  say  what  your  conduct  shall  be.  You  have  been  good  sol- 
diers so  far ;  there  could  be  none  better.  The  armv  in  which 
we  are  serving  is  at  a  critical  stage  in  its  operations.  The 
campaign  in  which  all  of  us  have  been  so  long  engaged,  while 
apparently  about  to  be  crowned  with  complete  success,  has 
not  as  yet  been  so  crowned.  Anything  like  insubordination 
or  mutiny  never  has  a  right  look,  more  especially  in  good  sol- 
diers, and  it  would  certainly  look  worse  now,  and  be  more 
liable  to  be  misunderstood,  than  at  almost  any  other  time.   If" — 

But  before  the  Colonel  could  go  on  some  one  "  raised  the 
yell,"  as  the  saying  was;  that  is,  cheered;  and  that  terminated 
the  interview,  and  ended  the  matter  finally.  The  detail  went 
into  the  trenches  with  alacrity.  »So  did  all  subsequent  details. 
What  was  disappointment,  wounds  or  death,  compared  with 
a  charge  of  unfaithfulness  or  dishonor?  It  was  not  long  until 
an  order  came  to  muster   out-the   regiment  on  September  1st. 

Following  shortly  after  the  above  development,  aftecting 
the  enlisted  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  was  another,  affect- 
ing the  commissioned  officers,  in  almost  exactly  the  same  way. 
This  was  a  ruling  that  each  successive  muster  would  be 
regarded  as  a  re-enlistment.  Therefore,  any  officer  who  had 
accepted  promotion  subsequent  to  his  original  muster-in  was 
not  to  be  mustered  out  with  the  regiment.  This  affected 
every  officer  in  the  Twenty-seventh  except  two,  and  it  was 
only  because  they  had  been  shamefully  treated  before  that, 
that  it  did  not  affect  them. 

As  in  the  other  case,  this  created  no  small  stir.  It  is  still  a 
source  of  quiet  amusement  in  certain  quarters  that  certain 
officers  who,  when  the  enlisted  men  were  in  trouble,  had 
pooh-poohed  and  said,  with  lofty  indifference,  "such  things 
were  to  be  expected  in  the  army;  nevermind  them!"  now 
raved  and  swore  terrifically.  The  writer  has  come  upon  such 
bad  words  as  "tyrannical,"  "outrageous,"  "forced  impress- 
ment," "conscripted,"  etc.,  etc.,  that  were  written  down  in 
this  connection.  It  seems  also  quite  certain  that  the  very 
thing  that  was  strongly  advised  against  in  the  former  case 
was  now  done.  That  is,  a  deputation,  armed  with  sundry 
Whereases  and  Wherefores,  "  We  respectfully  request,"  "We 
urgently  demand,"  and  so  on  and  so  forth,  was  dispatched  to 
those  whom,  it  was  believed,  could  have  the  hateful  ruling 
rescinded.  It  makes  all  the  difference  sometimes  whose  ox  is 
gored.     Still,  to  say,  or  intimate,  that  anything  really  improper 


TWEXTY-SEVEXTH    IXDIAXA.  539 

or  compromising  w;is  done  by  our  officers  would  be  misrepre- 
senting tlie  facts.  They,  too,  decided  to  remain  at  the  post  of 
duty,  until  relieved  in  a  regular  way. 

The  course  pursued  by  both  officers  and  men  in  this  con- 
nection was  in  striking  contrast  with  that  of  many  others 
during  the  war,  sometimes  those  occupying  the  highest 
stations.  We  have  seen  that,  at  this  very  time,  our  own 
corps  commander,  because  he  felt  himself  slighted  over  the 
promotion  of  anotlier  officer,  was  taken  with  the  sulks,  threw 
up  his  command,  and  went  to  the  rear.  At  least  one  other 
corps  commander  did  the  same  thing,  in  connection  with  the 
same  incident.  Both  of  them  were  appealed  to  in  the  same 
form,  and  in  almost  the  same  words,  that  was  the  case  with 
our  enlisted  men,  though  ineffectually.*  Both  continued  to 
draw  their  salary,  but  neither  did  anything  further  toward 
putting  down  the  rebellion. 

The  public  at  large  is  surely  too  much  attracted  by  the 
glamour  of  noted  personages,  and  history  is  sometimes  too 
partial  to  a  few  favorites.  It  was  not  unusual  in  the  Civil 
war,  as  it  has  not  been  unusual  in  all  wars  for  the  benefit  of 
humanity,  to  make  appeals  to  men  who  had  already  sacrificed 
almost  everything  except  life  itself.  The  men  appealed  to 
had  already  served  long  and  diligently  in  positions  of  almost 
unnoticed  and  unrequited  toil  and  exposure.  For  some  special 
reasons  they  were  asked  to  do  still  more,  and  they  seldom 
refused.  They  were  urged  to  consider  the  peculiar  demands 
of  some  crisis  and  to  subordinate  self  and  self-interest  still 
further  for  the  common  good,  and,  God  bless  them!  thev 
were  ready  to  do  it. 

But,  at  the  very  same  time,  and  under  the  same  or  similar 
circumstances,  other  men,  occupying  conspicuous  positions, 
men  who  had  really  never  known  what  it  was  to  sacrifice 
anything  for  anybody,  wlien  appealed  to  do  something 
unusurd,  or  that  was  a  little  distasteful  or  humiliating,  refused 
utterly.  Vital  interests  might  be  pending,  past  records  might 
be  involved,  and  great  opportunities  might  be  beckoning — it 
was  all  in  vain.  Is  it  right  that  men  like  these  should  be 
remembered,  that  their  names  should  be  blazoned  on  the 
pages  of  history  and  their  forms  l)e  embodied  in  bronze  and 
marble,  while  the  others  are  passed  by  and  forgotten? 


*  Sherman's  Memoirs,  \'(il.  II,  page  100. 


540  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Thus  the  time  passed  until  the  evening  of  August  81st. 
That  evening  our  brigade  band  came  to  our  camp  and  favored 
us  with  one  of  their  incomparable  serenades.  Matchless  as 
we  had  always  considered  their  music  to  be,  it  seemed  sweeter, 
especially  more  pathetic,  now  than  ever  before.  The  inevita- 
ble "  commissary  "  was  also  in  evidence,  and  some  became 
merry  in  that  way.      Not  so  with  most  of  the  boys. 

The  serenade  impressed  us  more  deeply  with  what  was 
about  to  take  place  than  we  had  realized  before.  Those  emo- 
tions which  are  peculiar  to  a  long  parting  between  true  and 
tried  friends  were  deeply  stirred  within  us.  There  was  a  tre- 
mendous tugging  at  our  heart-strings. 

The  brave  men  of  other  regiments — how  faithfully  and 
unflinchingly  they  had  stood  by  us  through  all  of  the  eventful, 
over-taxing  period  of  our  association,  and  how  we  honored 
and  trusted  them  !  As  individuals,  we  knew  comparatively 
few  among  them.  Not  many  of  them  were  known  to  us  per- 
sonally by  sight,  and  especially  not  by  name.  But  as  members 
of  this  or  that  regiment  we  knew  them  all,  and  seemed  to 
have  a  personal  regard  for  each  one. 

The  veterans  and  recruits  of  our  own  regiment  were  like- 
wise to  be  left  behind.  A  thousand  acts  of  kindness  and  inci- 
dents of  courage  and  heroism  bound  them  and  us  "  as  with 
hooks  of  steel."  Our  discharge  also  meant  a  tinal  separation 
from  those  who  were  going  home  with  us.  We  began  to  see, 
as  we  had  not  seen  so  clearly  before,  that  there  was  to  be  an 
entire,  ruthless  breaking  up  and  casting  off"  of  those  ties  and 
associations  which  had  been  forming  and  maturing  for  so  long. 

Alas,  alack  !  We  did  not  then  begin  to  comprehend  half 
the  truth!  How  could  we?  Was  it  to  be  expected  that  any 
of  us  could  so  penetrate  the  future  as  to  comprehend  the  full 
meaning  of  that  parting?  Men  shook  hands  and  separated 
there,  on  the  bank  of  that  far-away  vSouthern  river,  who, 
through  the  entire  three  years  of  that  desperate,  bloody  war, 
were  more  than  brothers  to  each  other.  AVhen  not  separated 
by  sickness  or  wounds,  occupying  the  same  narrow  "  bunk," 
sheltered,  when  sheltered  at  all,  by  the  same  little  tent,  cov- 
ered, when  covered  at  all,  by  the  same  blanket,  often  hovering 
close  together  to  make  up  for  each  other  what  the  blanket 
lacked  in  warmth  ;  as  between  themselves  absolutely  counting 
nothing  their  own,  "dividing  the  last  cracker,"  "  drinking 
from   the   same  canteen,"   the  only   rivalry  or  contention  ever 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


541 


known  between  them  being  as  to  which  should  be  the 
most  unselfish  and  thoughtful  towards  the  other,  and  surren- 
der the  most  for  the  other's  good.  Yet,  though  a  third  of  a 
century  has  passed  away  since  thai  Summer  day,  and  children 
then  unborn  are  telling  their  children,  themselves  well  grown, 
how  Grandpa  was  a  soldier  for  his  country,  away  back  in  the 
'sixties,  those  men  have  never  again  clasped  hands  or  looked 
into  each  other's  faces.  Nor  will  they  ever  again,  except  in  a 
land  where  war  shall  be  no  more. 


.-fi" 


Soldiers'  Monuiiiciit,  jasper,  Ind.     HniiK'  of  Co.  K. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


HOME. 


There  is  an  impressive  little  poem  extant  which  depicts 
the  home  coming  of  a  company  from  the  Civil  war.  The 
point  of  the  poem  lies  in  the  fact  (and  the  surprise  and  conster- 
nation of  the  people  over  the  fact)  of  the  reduced  number  of 
the  company.  The  announcement  that  it  was  coming  home, 
after  its  long  absence,  naturally  awakened  intense  interest.  A 
large  number  of  people  assembled  at  the  railroad  station  to 
meet  and  greet  it.  When  the  train  finally  arrived  all  eyes 
were  strained  to  see  its  members  alight.  At  last,  after  some 
delay,  one  only,  intirm,  weather-beaten,  battle-scarred  soldier 
came  out  of  the  car  and  descended  to  the  platform.  That  was 
the  company!      He  was  so  changed  that  nobody  knew  him. 

The  case  oi  the  Twenty -seventh  was  not  so  extreme  as 
that,  of  course;  but  the  regiment  that  came  home  was  in  strik- 
ing contrast  to  the  one  that  went  away.  The  men  coming  at 
this  time  represented  the  regiment.  All  accounts  agree  in 
giving  the  date  of  muster-out  of  those  who  came  at  this  time 
as  the  final  termination  of  the  existence  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh.  Yet  there  was  but  slightly  over  one  hundred  of 
them.  Qiiartermaster  Jamison,  who  ranked  as  a  first  lieuten- 
ant, was  in  command.  After  deducting  the  veterans  who 
had  been  transferred  to  another  regiment,  and  the  officers  who 
had  been  held,  under  the  ruling  heretofore  mentioned,  this 
was  what  remained.  The  muster-out  occurred  in  the  camp 
on  the  Chattahoochee,  on  the  morning  of  September  1st,  by  a 
Captain  Weeks,  of  the  regular  army.  Pay  and  discharges 
were  not  given  the  men,  however,  until  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
was  reached,  and  there  the  final  dissolution  came. 

After  being  mustered  out,  the  men  turned  in  their  guns 
and  equipments.  In  the  evening  they  crossed  to  the  north 
side  of  the  river.  On  the  morning  of  September  2d  they 
started  home,  on  the  top  of  freight  cars.  At  Marietta  it  devel- 
oped that  the  railroad  was  broken  up  by  rebel  cavalry,  caus- 
ing a  delay  there  of  two  or  three  days.      The  same  was  true  at 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  543 

Chattanooga.  The  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh  came  out  of 
the  latter  place  on  the  first  train  leaving  there  after  the  road 
was  repaired.  It  was  a  train  of  open  flat  cars,  and  \vithout 
seats,  of  course. 

The  men  did  not  arrive  at  Louisville  until  the  morning  of 
September  13th.  (A  passenger  train  now  goes  over  the  same 
route,  from  Atlanta  to  Louisville,  in  sixteen  hours).  In  the 
evening  of  September  13th,  as  darkness  was  coming  on,  the 
men  were  called  into  a  paymaster's  office,  at  Louisville,  and 
were  paid  in  full,  including  one  hundred  dollars  bounty. 
They  were  also  given  their  discharges.  Most  of  them  at  once 
crossed  over  to  Jeffersonville  or  New  Albany  (there  were  no 
bridges  spanning  the  Ohio  at  those  points  at  that  time)  and 
took  the  first  trains  out  for  their  homes.  The  Twent3'-seventh 
Regiment  Indiana  Volunteers  was  no  more. 

The  home  coining  was  in  no  case  attended  with  any  pub- 
lic demonstrations.  There  was  no  booming  of  cannon,  ringing 
of  bells,  blare  of  brass  bands,  or  cheers.  In  some  respects  the 
occasion  resembled  the  return  of  Rip  Van  \\'inkle,  after  his 
twenty  years  sleep  ;  and  in  others  the  return  of  a  run-away 
bridal  couple,  when  the  old  folks  decline  to  be  reconciled.  It 
had  become  too  common  to  have  men  go  away  to  the  army 
and  come  back,  and  there  were  too  many  people  that  were 
only  sorry  that  any  were  able  to  return.  But  neither  of 
these  last  facts  seemed  so  painful  to  some  of  us  as  the  first 
one,  which  was  that  we  had  really  almost  been  lost  sight  of 
and  forgotten,  by  a  great  many  people,  of  whom  we  had  hoped 
better  things. 

When  one  Twenty-seventh  soldier,  that  the  writer  has 
occasion  to  remember  about,  alighted  from  the  train,  at  the 
village  station,  unannounced,  the  faces  of  all  the  people  were 
turned  up  to  him,  as  he  came  out  on  the  platform  and  de- 
scended the  stepSj  as  blank  as  if  he  had  been  an  industrious 
beggar,  asking  for  ahns.  When  he  approached  a  young  man, 
who  had  been  a  former  neighbor,  with  somewhat  effusive 
greetings,  surely  pardonable  under  the  circumstances,  the 
young  man  either  did  not,  or  afTected  not,  to  know  him,  and 
could  not  be  brought  to  a  very  vivid  recollection  of  him.  As 
he  walked  out  to  his  home,  in  tlie  country,  another  former 
neighbor  rode  along  with  him  on  horseback.  The  soldier  had 
been  sick  and  was  obliged  to  sit  down  frequently  to  rest,  but 
the  man  did  not  ofier  to  let  him  ritle.       When    he    arrived   at 


544 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


home,  though  his  dear  old  father  and  mother  opened  wide 
their 'arms,  in  a  fond,  passionate  welcome,  and  shed  copious 
tears  of  joy  over  his  return,  an  uncle,  who  happened  to  be 
present,  did  not  as  much  as  offer  to  shake  hands  with  him. 
He  had  been  on  the  wrong  side  in  the  war  to  suit  the  uncle. 
This  one  instance  may  not  be  a  good   illustration   of   the 


A  Typical  Indiana  Fireside  Before  the   War. 

"  The  winds  of  heaven  never  fanned, 
The  searching  sunlight  never  spanned, 
The  borders  of  a  better  land 
Than  our  own  Indiana." 

end,  as  what  has  been  written  heretofore  is  doubtless  an 
imperfect  portrayal  of  the  beginning  and  middle,  of  the  serv- 
ice and  experience  of  the  men  of  the  Twenty-seventh.  This 
is  taken  from  real  life,  however,  and  like  the  balance,  has  the 
merit,  at  least,  of  not  being  overdrawn. 

It  is  not  really  within  the  scope   of  this  narrative  as  first 


TWENTYSEVENTir    INDIANA.  545 

decided  upon  to  pursue  the  history  of  these  men  further.  It 
seems  almost  necessary,  however,  to  account  for  those  left 
behind,  when  the  term  of  service  of  the  regiment  proper 
expired.  Most  of  the  commissioned  officers  were  mustered 
out,  by  order,  on  November  4,  1864. 

One  hundred  and  twenty-nine  of  the  enlisted  men  had 
re-enlisted  as  veterans  while  the  regiment  was  at  Tullahoma. 
All  of  those  still  living  were  transferred  to  the  Seventieth 
Indiana,  as  well  as  all  recruits  whose  terms  of  service  had  not 
expired,  and  a  due  proportion  of  commissioned  officers  with 
them.  The  details  of  their  subsequent  experiences  have  not 
been  supplied  to  the  writer.  They  are  understood  to  be  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  other  members  of  the  Seventieth,  how- 
ever. That  regiment  made  the  march  to  the  sea  with  Sher- 
man, and  afterwards  up  through  the  Carolinas,  After  the 
rebels  had  laid  down  their  arms,  Sherman's  army  continued 
its  march,  in  peace,  on  to  Richmond  and  Washington.  We 
have  seen  heretofore  that  our  own  Twenty-se\-enth  boys  who 
re-enlisted  encamped  on  the  battlefield  of  Chancellorsville, 
just  tW'O  years  to  a  day  after  they  had  been  in  battle  there  at 
first. 

At  Washington  they  participated  in  the  Grand  Review^ 
one  of  the  most  memorable  pageants,  and  surely  the  most 
remarkable  one,  that  the  world  has  ever  witnessed.  The 
spectacle  of  a  victorious  army  of  two  hundred  thousand 
veteran  soldiers,  marching  through  the  streets  of  the  Capital 
of  their  countr}',  at  the  close  of  a  bloody  four-years  war,  with- 
out a  single  captive,  without  a  penny's  worth  of  booty,  w^ith- 
out  malice  in  their  hearts  toward  any  one,  without  a  disposition 
even  to  gloat  over  a  fallen  foe  ;  glad  and  cheering  only  because 
the  Union  had  been  restored,  the  Republic  was  safe  and  home 
was  in  sight — who  had  ever  seen  such  a  spectacle  before, 
and  who  will  ever  see  such  a  one  again? 

When  the  term  of  enlistment  of  the   Seventieth   expired, 

in  June,  1805,  our  veterans,  and  recruits  whose  time  was  not 

yet  out,  were  transferred  to  the  Thirty-third  Indiana.     It  was. 

not  long  after  this,  however,  until  the  Thirty-third  was  ordered 

to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to   be   mustered  out.      This  occurred 

July  21,  1865,  and  all  former  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh 

were  mustered   out   at   that  time.      Without  further  statement 

of  the  fact,  therefore,  it  will  be  understood  that  wherever  the 
35 


546  HISTORY    OF    THE 

word  "  veteran  "  occurs  in  this  volume,  whether  in  the  roster 
or  elsewhere,  this,  very  briefly,  was  their  history. 

The  first  reunion  of  the  survivors  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
"was  held  at  Gosport  in  1885.  It  was  wholly  informal  and 
without  large  publicity.  About  forty  former  members  of  the 
regiment  were  present.  Since  then  very  successful  and  de- 
lightful meetings  have  been  held  at  Greencastle,  Seymour, 
Washington,  IMartinsville,  Edinburg,  Bedford,  Greenfield, 
Indianapolis,  Bloomington,  North  Salem,  etc. 

To  print  all  of  the  able  addresses,  poems  and  various  pa- 
pers  presented  at  these  re-unions  would  alone  require  a  volume. 
Most  of  them  have  been  by  persons  not  formerly  connected 
with  the  regiment,  and  have  been  so  complimentary,  so  out- 
spoken in  their  kindly  appreciations  of  the  character  and 
•services  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  as  to  render  their  publication, 
«nder  the  auspices  of  the  regiment  itself,  of  doubtful  propri- 
ety, able  as  they  have  been  intellectually,  and  highly  as  they 
have  been  appreciated.  Space  remains  in  this  volume  for  one 
or  two  only. 

The  following  original  poem  was  read  by  Dr.  John  Clark 
Ridpath,  at  the  camp-fire,  in  connection  with  the  re-union  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  Association,  in  Meharry  Hall, 
-DePauw  University,  Green  Castle,  Indiana,  July  2,  1886. 

THE  TWENTY-SEVENTH,  WELCOME! 


I. 

O  ye  men  who  flew  to  arms 
In  the  midst  of  war's  alarms, 
Fell  in  line  without  a  word, 
Seized  the  musket  and  the  sword, 
Turned  from  home  to  march  and  fight 
In  the  battle  for  the  right. 
There  is  welcome  here  for  you 
O  ye  men  who  wore  the  blue  I 

II. 

Ye  whom  bugles  sounding  far 
Called  and  marshalled  forth  to  war; 
Ye  to  whom  it  seemed  the  best 
To  lose  your  lives  and  save  the  rest, 
Come  and  camp  to-day  a  while 
In  the  light  of  Freedom's  smile, 
Hear- the  cheers  that  ring  for  you 
O  ye  men  who  wore  the  blue ! 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  547 

III. 

Near  a  lifetime  'tis  ago 
When  the  madmen  struck  the  blow, 
Dared  the  people,  kindled  strife. 
Sought  to  take  the  Nation's  life. 
Smote  old  Sumter  as  she  sate. 
Would  have  rent  each  noble  State 
From  the  Union — but  for  you, 
O  ye  men  who  wore  the  blue  I 

I\'. 

Armies  rose  and  wheeled  away 

In  that  great  heroic  day  ; 

They  were  lost  awhile  fi^om  sight 

In  the  thickest  of  the  fight  ; 

In  the  curling  battle  smoke 

Where  the  gray  lines  reeled  and  broke, 

You  were  hidden  long  from  view, 

O  ye  men  who  wore  the  blue  ! 

V. 

But  you  came  through  dead  and  dying 
With  the  old  flag  proudly  flying  ! 
And  the  cheer  of  victory 
Rising  to  the  distant  sea 
Told  the  world  how  freemen  fight. 
In  the  cause  of  truth  and  right, — 
Told  how  brave  a  band  and  true 
W^ere  the  men  who  wore  the  blue  ! 

VI. 

History  with  generous  pen 
Hath  enrolled  you  all  for  men  ! 
She  hath  set  your  battles  down 
In  the  world's  book  of  renown  ! 
Not  a  name  shall  e'er  be  lost 
Of  that  patriotic  host 
Who  with  wounds  and  death  in  view 
Braved  it  all  and  wore  the  blue  I 

VII. 

On  old  Cedar  Mountain's  side, 

By  the  Rappahannock's  tide, 

At  Antietam's  bloody  Bridge, 

On  the  Cemetery  Ridge, 

From  the  Tennessee's  red  banks. 

Hard  on  Johnston's  broken  flanks. 

To  Atlanta's  walls  and  through 

Marched  the  men  who  wore  the  blue  I 


548  VIISTORY    OF    THE 

VIII. 

Some  came  home  or  deaf  or  blind, 

Some  had  left  their  limbs  behind, 

Some  were  scarred  with  wounds  and  torn,. 

All  were  bronzed  and  battle  worn; 

But  you  came  with  spirits  high, 

With  the  flashing  of  the  eye, 

And  the  land  was  proud  of  you, 

O  ye  men  who  wore  the  blue  ! 

IX. 

Not  a  braver  regiment 

Than  the  Twenty-seventh  spent 

Hope  and  health  and  blood  and  life 

In  those  awful  years  of  strife  I 

Not  a  firmer  stood  at  rest, 

Not  a  nobler  bared  its  breast  I  , 

Not  a  line  more  tried  and  true, 

O  ye  men  who  wore  the  blue  ! 

X. 

Years  have  fled,  and  ye  are  here 

To  revive  with  song  and  cheer 

Memories  that  drift  afar 

From  the  grand  old  days  of  war  ! 

In  this  classic,  loyal  hall 

Light  your  camp-fire,  roll  the  ball  ! 

Welcome  here,  ye  brave  and  true — 

W^elcome  all  who  wore  the  blue  ! 

At  the  same  time  vSergt.  Lewis  P.  Stone,  of  Company  I, 
read  the  following  paper.  For  what  it  reveals  of  army  life, 
as  well  as  illustrating  the  varied  character  of  the  exercises  at 
a  carnp-fire,  it  is  deemed  worthy  of  a  place  here. 

HARDTACK   AND   BACON. 

In  1861,  when  the  alarm  bells  of  war  were  sounded  and  old  men  and 
boys  alike  came  marching  np  a  hundred  thousand  strong,  or  more,  to  see 
about  the  racket  (or  words  to  that  effect),  there  appeared  in  camp  a 
mysterious  stranger — who  he  was,  from  whence  he  came  or  what  kind  of 
stuff  he  was  made  of,  were  questions  often  discussed  but  never  solved — 
and  to  those  who  knew  him  best  this  was  no  surprise,  for  never  was  there 
a  harder  subject.  He  was  tortured  in  boiling  grease,  immersed  in  water 
day  after  day,  was  reduced  to  a  powder  by  being  confined  in  a  bag  and 
pounded  with  stones,  was  transfixed  by  sticks  and  scorched  before  merci- 
less camp  fires,  to  make  him  reveal  his  parts.  His  body  was  made  the 
food  of  devouring  worms — but  they  only  served  to  intensify  his  cohesive- 
ness.     Meekly  he  bore  the  indignities  and  wrongs  that  were  heaped  upoa 


TWENTV-SEVEN"TI£    INDIANA.  549 

him,  but  with  peerless  devotion  he  maintained  the  mystery  of  his  hard- 
ness, like  all  good  soldiers.  Not  only  this,  but  he  came  to  stay  and  he 
stayed.  He  was  in  the  first  three  months'  service  and  then  veteranized 
*'  for  during,"  and  never  was  there  a  truer,  better  soldier.  At  first  mis- 
trusted and  abused,  he  gradually  won  his  way  to  the  confidence  of  the 
soldier,  until  he  finally,  not  only  conquered  their  respect,  but  love,  and  by 
common  consent,  they  called  him  by  the  endearing  name  of  "  Hardtack." 
In  the  flush  and  enthusiasm  of  their  new  found  love  the  boys  said  that  he 
was  "just  good  enough  to  eat,"  and  although  he  was  numerous — millions 
of  him — yet  scarcely  was  he  sufficient  to  appease  their  voracious  appe- 
tite. 'Tis said  "there  are  empty  voids  this  world  can  never  fill,"  and  I 
guess  that's  so — for  with  the  millions  upon  millions  of  hardtack  devoted 
to  this  purpose,  never  was  the  cry  of  "hardtack,  hardtack,  more  hard- 
tack," ever  hushed  in  the  army.  One  by  one  he  disappeared — fell  as 
martyrs  to  a  cause;  until  few  were  left  to  tell  the  story  of  a  devoted, 
though  hopeless  effort. 

With  characteristic  self-denial.  Comrade  Crose  spared  one  of  the 
original  hardtacks  from  the  fate  of  all  others  that  fell  into  his  hands. 
And  so,  to-night,  through  his  kindness,  I  have  the  pleasure  of  holding  up 
before  you,  boys,  one  of  the  old  veterans  of  the  war. 

He  was  born  at  Fortress  Monroe  in  1861,  following  McClellan's  army 
nearly  to  Richmond;  thence  was  shipped  back  to  Pope's  army;  was  in 
the  battle  of  Second  Bull  Run,  and  was  rescued  from  slaughter  on  that 
bloody  field  of  carnage,  and  there  honorably  discharged  by  the  order  of 
Pap  Jameson — and  sent  to  the  home  of  his  rescuer  in  this  city.  Look  at 
him  !  think  of  him  I  a  quarter-century  old,  and  yet  no  moss  grows  on  his 
back — as  bright  and  slick  and  hard  as  ever.  But  we  must  not  forget  that 
amid  the  scoffs  and  jeers  of  persecutors  and  the  vicissitudes  of  war,  he  had 
one  friend,  who  from  the  first,  stuck  closer  than  a  brother  could.  She  was 
always  true  to  him.  Such  unselfish  devotion  as  she  lavished  upon  her 
lover  was  seldom  seen  before,  and  perhaps  to  her  devotion,  more  than 
any  other  cause,  was  due  the  triumph  he  finally  achieved  over  the  affec- 
tions of  the  soldier.  With  her  loving  hands  many  rough  places  were  made 
smooth.  She  prepared  the  way,  as  it  were,  before  him.  She  poured  out 
rivers  of  her  fatness  that  he  might  be  made  rich.  No  sacrifice  that  she 
could  make  for  him  was  refused.  And  yet,  while  we  may  remember  her 
devotion  and  speak  in  praise  of  her  virtues,  such  are  the  restrictions  of 
society  that  we  dare  not  call  her  by  the  pet  name  we  loved  so  well,  and 
must  therefore  be  content  to  call  her — Bacon.  But  to  us  she  could  never 
be  so  sweet  by  any  other  name  as  that  we  called  her  then.  Hardtack 
and  his  help-meet  entered  into  limitless  combinations,  which,  if  they 
could  all  be  given,  would  paralyze  a  modern  devotee  of  the  culinary  art. 
Some  of  these  preparations  were  good — some  were  bad,  but  none  were 
ever  so  vile  as  to  long  go  begging  for  some  one  to  take  it  in.  War,  they 
say,  makes  men  cruel  and  inhuman,  but  I  never  saw  a  soldier  turn  a  cold 
shoulder  on  anything  good  to  eat.  Someway  they  largely  lived  by  eating. 
In  the  camp,  on  the  march,  on  the  battlefield,  everywhere  you  could 
hear  the  cry  "  Hardtack  and — bacon,  more  hardtack  and— bacon,"  and 
the  nearer  we  came  to  the  Johnnies,  the  louder  grew  the  call.  It  seemed 
to  whet  the  appetite,  and  on  such  occasions  we  would  alwavs  be  short  of 


550  HISTORY    OF    THE 

this  commodity.  It  had  a  wonderfully  quieting  effect  upon  the  nerves 
at  that  trying  moment,  just  before  the  ball  opens,  and  the  fun  begins. 
Nibbhng  at  hardtack,  soaked  in  bacon  juice,  has  saved  many  a  fellow  an 
attack  of  buck-ague — steadied  his  legs  and  kept  his  face  to  the  enemy. 
Defeat  was  never  known  to  an  army  well  equipped  with  hardtack  and 
bacon.     All  honor  to  hardtack  and  bacon. 

At  the  camp-fire  in  connection  with  the  reunion  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  at  Martinsville,  Mr.  J.  W,  Fesler,  a  son  of 
Col.  John  R.  Fesler,  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  delivered  the 
address  found  below.  It  is  given  a  place,  not  only  for  its 
own  sake,  but  as  illustrating  the  sentiments  of  our  children, 
the  parts  they  take  in  our  reunions,  and  the  part  they  will 
eventually  take  in  the  affairs  of  the  country. 

THE  SONS  OF  VETERANS. 

The  grandest  privilege  of  the  young  man  of  1861  was  to  enlist  in  the 
Union  army.  The  grandest  privilege  of  the  young  man  of  1889  is  to 
hold  a  father's  honorable  discharge  from  the  Union  army.  For  after  the 
lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  it  must  be  the  verdict  of  every  patriotic 
American  citizen  that  the  records  of  that  memorable  struggle  for  Union 
and  liberty  is  the  brightest  page  in  our  country's  history,  and  renders 
immortal  the  name  of  every  Union  soldier. 

The  record  of  those  four  terrible  years  furnishes  a  story  of  patriotic 
devotion,  patient  endurance  and  heroic  self-sacrifice  that  cann6t  be  told 
too  often;  a  story  which,  as  long  as  men  continue  to  honor  noble  deeds, 
must  awaken  the  loftiest  sentiments  and  call  forth  the  noblest  impulses 
of  the  human  soul.  And  why  should  it  not  be  so?  No  army  was  ever 
moved  by  purer  motives  or  for  a  grander  purpose.  It  was  an  army  of 
patriots;  not  hirelings.  It  was  an  army  that  fought  not  for  men,  but  for 
principle;  not  for  conquest,  but  for  a  united  country;  not  to  enslave,  but 
to  free.  Fired  with  the  inspiration  and  determination  that  must  come 
from  fighting  for  such  a  cause,  this  grand  old  army  neither  paused  nor 
swerved  until  its  starry  banner  waved  once  more  over  a  reunited  country, 
wherein  all  men  are  equal  and  every  man  is  free. 

So,  I  say,  the  young  man  of  to-day  who  can  point  to  a  father's  honor- 
able record  in  the  Union  army  has  inherited  a  legacy,  and  enjoys  a 
distinction,  of  which  he  may  well  feel  proud. 

It  is  fitting,  then,  at  these  regimental  reunions,  where  a  few  surviving 
comrades  meet  to  exchange  a  kindly  greeting,  and  recall  the  experiences 
of  other  days,  that  something  should  be  said  in  behalf  of  the  Sons  of 
Veterans,  whose  high  duty  it  must  ever  be  to  guard  zealously  and  pre- 
serve at  whatever  cost,  the  results  of  your  victories.  For  it  is  they,  not 
you,  who  will  receive  the  full  rewards  of  your  sacrifices  and  to  whom 
must  be  entrusted  the  results  of  your  achievements.  Whatever  benefits 
you  are  to  receive  must  come  largely  from  a  consciousness  of  duty  well 
and  honorably  done,  in  an  hour  of  your  country's  need.  All  else  must 
rest  with  a  grateful  people. 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  holiest  obligation,  the  highest  and  most 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA. 


551 


o 

> 

% 

13 

2 

ffi 

w 

> 

n 

M 

a 

r 

M 

— 

O 

^ 

?^ 

n 

Pu 

O 

w 

?s 

n 

K 

^ 

o 

o 

00 

W 

^ 

?3 

— ' 

O 

H 

■r^^i)*^^^!]^^^ 


^ 


;'"'   ■  >-v^ ---!A  .j^'- >'  iZ.i'K^  -  v.. 


552  HISTORY    OF    THE 

sacred  duty,  of  Sons  of  \'eterans  to-day,  is  a  just  appreciation,  and  a 
sincere  and  grateful  remembrance  of  the  immortal  lessons  taught  by  the 
rebellion.  This  is  all  that  we  can  do;  it  is  the  very  least  that  we  should 
do.  With  the  old  veterans  passing  away  by  thousands  annually,  it  is  a 
matter  of  but  few  years  until  the  last  one  shall  have  answered  his  last 
roll-call.  And  this  is  the  saddest  reflection  of  all — the  fact  that  the  day 
must  come  when  not  one  man  of  all  that  army  will  be  left  to  tell  the 
story.  The  duty  of  Sons  of  Veterans  thus  becomes  more  imperative 
with  increasing  years  and  demands  that  the  same  patriotism  which 
inspired  the  boys  of  '61  to  risk  all  in  defense  of  the  flag,  now  demands 
that  their  sons  shall  be  none  the  less  ready  to  uphold  with  honor  what 
they  secured  with  blood. 

The  sentmient  which  to-day  finds  expression  in  such  language  as 
•"  that  will  be  a  happy  day  for  this  Republic  when  the  last  beggar  of  the 
Grand  Army  is  securely  planted,"  and  that  "  the  war  has  left  us  as  a 
legacy  only  a  grand  army  of  pensioners  and  office-seekers,"  is  an  insult 
to  our  hero-dead  and  the  basest  ingratitude  to  our  soldier-living.  Let  all 
such  enemies  say  what  their  small  souls  and  treasonable  hearts  may 
prompt  them  to  say,  but  they  cannot  take  away  one  iota  from  the  legacy 
the  war  has  left  coming  generations.  It  has  left  us  an  army  of  pensioners; 
but  that  list  constitutes  the  nation's  Roll  of  Honor;  and  full  and  com- 
plete justice  will  never  be  done  until  that  list  includes  the  name  of  every 
man  who  wore  the  blue.  And  if  there  are  office-seekers  among  them, 
the  people  have  more  than  once  said  none  others  are  more  capable  or 
more  deserving.  But  it  has  left  us  more.  It  has  left  us  a  nation  that 
to-day  unfurls  a  flag  before  the  admiring  eyes  of  all  the  world  that  is 
known  to  be  the  emblem  of  "  The  grandest  national  idea,  the  brightest 
national  hope,  and  the  firmest  national  union  that  has  ever  blest  the  his- 
tory of  human  government." 

So,  I  repeat,  the  first  and  highest  duty  of  Sons  of  Veterans  to-day 
lies  in  the  grateful  remembrance  and  continued  acknowledgment  of  an 
obligation  that  can  never  be  adec^uately  paid. 

Of  late  years  there  has  been  a  tendency  in  certain  quarters  to  dis- 
courage all  reference  to  the  history  of  the  rebellion,  for  the  reason  that  it 
might  tend  to  keep  alive  the  memories  of  the  war.  Such  efforts  have 
invariably  met  the  rebuke  they  deserve,  and  that  will  be  a  dark  day  m 
our  history  when  it  is  otherwise.  The  safety  of  the  Republic  demands 
the  memory  of  the  Union  soldier  and  the  cause  for  which  he  fought  shall 
be  perpetuated.  It  demands  that  the  cause  for  which  two  and  one-half 
millions  of  volunteer  heroes  went  forth  to  battle  and  to  die  if  need  be 
shall  never  be  misunderstood;  it  demands  that  the  memories  of  Vicks- 
burg  and  Shiloh,  of  Antittam  and  Gettysburg,  of  Libby  and  Anderson- 
ville  shall  not  die;  it  demands  the  cause  for  which  the  immortal  Lincoln 
lived  and  died;  the  cause  for  which  that  true  patriot  and  consummate 
statesman,  Oliver  P.  Morton,  gave  his  best  energies  and  undying  love; 
the  cause  for  which  Grant  and  Logan,  Thomas  and  Hancock,  Sherman, 
Sheridan  and  Colgrove  fought,  shall  never  be  forgotten.  There  is  and 
there  always  must  be  a  distinction  between  the  cause  of  the  Union  and 
the  cause  of  the  rebellion,  so  long  as  there  is  a  difference  between 
loyalty  and  disloyalty;  between  union  and  disunion;  between  patriotism 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  553 

and  treason;  between  right  and  wrong,  and  no  lapse  of  time  nor  any 
amount  of  "gush"  about  the  "  brotlierhoud  of  man,"  can  blot  out  the 
difference. 

This  sentiment  only?  Admit  it.  But  it  is  a  sentiment  that  means  a 
truer  patriotism,  a  nobler  manhood,  and  a  more  intelligent  citizenship;  it 
is  the  sentiment  that  is  to-day  building  the  greatest  soldiers'  monument 
on  the  earth,  to  commemorate  the  services  of  Indiana  in  the  war — a 
monument  that  will  stand  as  an  eternal  witness  of  the  patriotism, 
courage  and  valor  of  those  whose  memory  it  perpetuates.  Yes,  it  is  the 
sentiment  that  made  a  member  of  this  very  regiment,  while  suffering 
intense  pain  a  few  months  ago,  from  the  loss  of  an  arm  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  bear  it  with  heroic  fortitude,  and  thank  God  he  was  suffering  for  his 
children  and  his  country,  and  he  is  only  one  of  ten  thousand  such. 

May  the  memory  of  the  Union  soldier,  then,  live  as  it  deserves  to 
live,  so  long  as  there  is  a  veteran  on  the  earth;  so  long  as  there  is  a  son 
of  a  veteran  on  earth;  aye,  so  long  as  the  fires  of  patriotism  burn  in  the 
hearts  of  men,  may  their  memories  live.  For,  w.th  such  an  influence  at 
work,  the  spirit  of  American  patriotism  can  never  die;  this  lavish  expend- 
iture of  blood  and  treasure  will  not  have  been  in  vain,  and  the  saddest 
period  in  our  country's  history  will  be  remembered  only  for  the  lesson  it 
has  taught  and  the  blessings  it  has  secured. 

On  behalf  of  the  Sons  of  Veterans,  then,  for  whom  I  speak  to-night, 
I  pledge  eternal  love,  reverence  and  honor.  Your  lives  shall  ever  be  to 
us  an  inspiration  and  a  blessed  memory,  and  when  the  last  one  of  you 
shall  have  answered  the  bugle  call  of  the  Great  Commander,  there  will 
be  no  prouder  citizen  than  he  who  can  say,  "  I  am  the  son  of  a  Union 
soldier." 


Maj.-Gkn.  N.  p.  Banks. 
(Plate  delayed.) 


BEARING  UPON  GETTYSBURG. 


More  or  less  pressure  has  been  brought  upon  the  writer,  not  all  of  it 
from  outside  of  himself,  to  have  him  give  expression  to  some  strong  state- 
ments and  make  some  rather  harsh  retorts,  concerning  certain  officers  of  the 
Second  Massachusetts,  in  connection  with  the  words  in  the  report  of  the 
Adjutant  General  of  that  state,  referring  to  the  Twenty-seventh  at  Gettys- 
burg, and  other  similar  matters.  While  anything  that  might  raise  serious 
questions,  or  that  might  be  considered  ill-tempered,  would  not  be  proper 
in  itself,  or  meet  the  approval  of  most  of  the  survivors  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  the  plain  statement  of  some  other  facts  will  be  less  liable  to  objec- 
tions and  perhaps  be  justified,  not  only  as  throwing  light  upon  this  one 
subject,  but  as  showmg,  at  the  same  time,  one  of  the  phases  of  army 
experience,  as  we  in  the  Twenty  seventh  saw  it. 

A  certain  number  of  the  officers  of  the  Second  Massachusetts,  par- 
ticularly of  the  earlier  officers  of  that  regiment,  manifested  what  seemed 
to  be  a  decided  aversion  for  the  Twenty-seventh  and  all  connected  with 
it,  at  the  start;  and,  as  far  as  they  remained  with  the  Second,  continued  in 
that  course  until  the  end.  They  were  as  careful,  more  especially,  not  to 
have  any  intimate  or  friendly  social  relations  with  anyone  connected  with 
our  regiment,  officers  as  well  as  enlisted  men  (if  not  with  all  other  regi- 
ments except  their  own),  as  if  the  whole  of  us  were  confirmed  Asiatic 
lepers.  Among  themselves  they  were  singularly  unbending,  jovial,  often 
prankish  and  even  rowdyish.  But  when  it  came  to  others,  above  all,  the 
Indiana  men,  it  was  a  severe  case  of  the  Jew  and  the  Samaritan  over 
again. 

The  attitude  of  these  officers  toward  enlisted  men  of  all  regiments, 
those  of  their  own  regiment  more  than  of  others,  was  notorious.  It  was 
extreme  in  its  severe  exclusiveness,  and  suffocating  in  its  august  uppish- 
ness.  Nobody  ever  saw  or  heard  of  anything  like  it,  anywhere  else  in 
this  country,  either  among  volunteers  or  regulars. 

The  writer  has  served  on  picket  when  an  officer  from  the  Second 
Massachusetts  was  in  command.  For  the  entire  twenty-four  hours,  the 
officer  would  not  deign  to  speak,  as  much  as  a  word,  to  anyone  on  the 
detail,  except  such  as  pertained  strictly  to  the  most  formal  matter  of 
official  duty.  Like  a  gloomy  owl,  he  sat  far  apart,  by  himself,  looking 
wise  and  important,  but  saying  nothing.  If  he  relapsed  in  his  grand  and 
awful  dignity,  during  the  entire  time,  as  much  even  as  to  eat  a  mouthful 
of  food,  he  was  careful  that  none  of  us  should  see  it.  We  had  our  rations 
with  us,  of  course,  and  cooked  and  ate  them;  had  our  jokes  and  fun,  when 
not  on  the  relief  doing  duty,  and  whiled  away  the  time  as  agreeably  as 
possible.  But  the  officer  would  none  of  it.  No  one  present  must  see 
that  he  was  human. 

The  relations  that  should  be  observed  between  officers  and  enlisted 
men,  however,  is  a  military  question,  not  relevant  in  this  connection. 
True,  General  Sherman  says  of  General  Thomas,  "  Between  Thomas  and 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  555 

his  men  there  existed  a  most  kindly  relation.  He  often  talked  with  them 
in  a  very  familiar  way."  All  who  served  under  "  Uncle  Billy  "  know  that 
he  habitually  did  the  same.  But  then — Sherman  and  Thomas  were  not 
original  officers  of  the  Second  Massachusetts  I 

But  when  it  comes  to  the  relations  of  an  officer  in  one  regiment  to 
another  officer,  of  the  same  or  superior  rank,  in  another  regiment,  espe- 
cially when  the  two  regmients  are  necessarily  thrown  together  a  great 
deal,  the  case  is  different.  A  former  officer  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  who 
in  the  army  was  the  peer  of  any  officer  of  his  rank  anywhere,  a  thoroughly 
competent,  dignified,  gentlemanly  officer,  and  one  who,  since  the  war, 
has  gone  out  and  made  easy  conquest  of  large  wealth  and  of  high  official 
and  social  position,  writes  that,  though  related  officially  to  the  officers 
of  the  Second  Massachusetts  so  long  and  so  intimately,  when  it  came  to 
personal  or  social  relations,  many  of  them,  including  ihe  chaplain,  did 
not  encourage  as  much  as  a  speaking  acquaintance  with  him,  or  with  any 
of  the  officers  of  the  Twenty-seventh.  A  civil  question  or  a  common 
courtesy  was  almost  invariably  answered  with  a  cold  stare,  or  an  insolent 
rebuff  !  This  statement  has  been  confirmed  by  a  number  of  former 
officers  of  the  Twenty-seventh. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  it  is  not  an  easy  task  to  think  or  write  of 
such  a  condition  of  affairs  with  absolute  composure.  At  the  start,  the 
officers  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were  not  quite  social  outcasts  I  One  was 
the  grandson  of  a  former  president  of  the  United  States,  and  the  brother 
of  a  future  president.  With  him  in  the  regiment  were  judges,  bank  pres- 
idents, clergymen,  attorneys,  physicians  and  various  other  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  dignitaries.  Several  of  the  younger  officers  were  university 
students  or  graduates.  If  these  officers  were  novices  in  military  affairs, 
as  most  Western  officers  were,  they  were  all  in  that  respect  that  they 
claimed  to  be.  As  they  did  not  deserve  snubbing  because  of  what  they 
really  were,  neither  did  they  because  of  what  they  pretended  to  be  and 
were  not. 

Later  on,  the  Twenty-seventh  came  to  have  many  as  good  officers, 
as  such,  as  could  be  found  in  the  army.  This  is  a  deliberate  statement, 
controvert  who  may.  They  were  thoroughly  posted  as  to  their  duties 
and  invariably  performed  them  thoroughly.  In  addition  to  this,  they 
were  as  royal  souls  personally  as  ever  breathed.  This  is  but  a  meager, 
and  perhaps  unnecessary,  tribute  from  one  who  knew  them  so  well  and 
has  pondered  their  character  and  conduct  so  long.  While  rather  too 
modest  and  unassuming  (if  those  could  be  faults),  they  were  well- 
born, fairly  well  educated,  brainy,  courageous  and  clean.  Some  of  them 
were  Christians.  Yet,  here  were  men,  in  no  way  their  superiors,  either  in 
rank,  competency,  or  as  men — often  their  juniors  in  age  -affecting  an  air 
of  cold  exclusiveness — of  a  lofty,  haughty,  arrogant  disdain — for  them 
and  theirs ! 

Truth  to  tell,  these  things  have  been  a  paradox  and  stumbling  block 
to  the  writer  from  that  day  to  this.  These  officers,  who  were  guilty  of 
this  offensive  conduct,  were  understood  to  be  descended  from  some  of 
the  oldest  families  of  New  England.  They  boasted  of  the  number  of 
university  men  among  them,  ami  some  of  them— the  chaplain,  at  least — 
were  supposed  to  be  Christians.     All  of  these  points  have  been  repeat- 


556  HISTORY    OK    THE 

edly  put  forward  by  their  friends,  if  not  by  different  ones  of  their  own 
number,  as  being  to  their  credit,  and  as  constituting  a  part  of  their 
title  to  fame — the  Christian  feature,  in  some  instances,  being  made  espe- 
cially prominent. 

If,  however,  these  last  facts  were  true  of  these  mdividuals,  what,  in 
the  light  of  the  other  facts,  stated  herein,  becomes  of  the  widely  accepted 
theory  that  high  birth,  education  and  religion  make  men  more  catholic  in 
their  ideas  and  more  unselfish  and  agreeable  in  their  conduct?  In  view 
of  all  the  facts  in  the  case,  what  shall  be  done  with  the  oft-repeated  doc- 
trine that  a  noble  ancestry,  and  enlightened  mind  and  Christianity,  beget 
courtesy,  graciousness  and  brotherhood?  In  other  words,  if  the  course 
pursued  by  these  officers  was  not  rank  codfish,  dense  ignorance  and 
coarse,  brutal  heathenism,  what  was  it?  Shades  of  Harvard  University 
and  of  Puritanism  !     Divine  example  of  the  man  of  Nazareth  ! 

As  remarked  heretofore,  these  considerations  are  given  a  place  here, 
as  an  important,  if  not  a  necessary,  feature  of  this  narrative.  They  serve 
to  show  something  of  one  phase,  and  a  prominent  one,  of  the  history  of  the 
the  Twenty-seventh.  In  daily  contact  with  these  persons,  some  one  or 
more  of  them  at  all  of  the  various  headquarters — pushing  themselves  as 
they  did  into  places  of  prominence — with  them  in  absolute  control,  for 
the  first  year,  at  brigade  headquarters,  it  can  be  readily  understood  what 
it  was,  in  some  peculiar  respects,  to  serve  in  the  Twenty-seventh,  and 
■why  such  items  as  these  connected  with  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and 
other  similar  ones,  are  to  be  found  in  reports,  public  records,  etc.  As  far 
as  the  writer  is  informed,  no  other  regiment  in  the  Union  army  had  its 
path,  rugged  enough  at  best,  so  planted  with  thorns,  by  those  long  and 
closely  associated  with  it,  as  was  that  of  the  Twenty-seventh. 

It  must  be  understood,  though,  that  the  facts  mentioned  were  not 
characteristic  of  all  of  the  officers  of  the  Second  Massachusetts.  It  may 
be  that  they  were  not  all  of  the  purest  strain  of  Puritans,  as  they  were 
not  all  university  men!  Or  was  it  because  they  were  not  all  Christians,  of 
the  same  type?  There  were  exceotions,  anyway,  and,  towards  the  last, 
there  were  notable  exceptions.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  situation  is 
delicate  and  that  statements  along  this  line  are  hard  to  frame,  if  not  of 
questionable  utility.  No  one  will  conclude  surely,  that  sweeping,  job- 
lot  criticisms  are  intended  in  this  connection,  as  there  is  no  general  sense 
of  injury  or  soreness  to  prompt  them.  The  writer,  personally,  has  sub- 
stantial reasons  for  the  kindly  recollections  that  he  will  always  cherish 
for  different  Second  Massachusetts  officers — one  in  particular.  Other 
former  members  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  both  officers  and  enlisted  men, 
received  similiar  courtesies  from  those  who  wore  shoulder  straps  in  the 
old  Second,  and  still  have  similar  impulses  concerning  them.  No  offense 
or  disrespect  is  meant  for  those  not  guilty — nor  indeed  for  others.  This 
is  mostly  history. 


THE  REGIMENTAL  ROSTER. 


In  the  army  the  roll,  or  list  of  names,  of  a  company,  or  of  a  detail  or 
squad  of  men,  is  called  a  "  roster,"  though  in  the  Twenty-seventh,  in 
common  conversation,  that  name  was  not  often  used.  As  the  command 
was  "Fall  in  for  roll-call,"  so  it  was  usually  "the  company  roll,"  or  "the 
roll  "  of  this  or  that  body  of  men. 

The  writer  has  found  the  study  of  the  regimental  roster — that  is  the 
rolls  of  the  several  companies — a  matter  of  peculiar  interest.  This  has 
been  the  same  whether  the  study  has  been  incidental,  in  preparing  the 
roster  for  publication,  or  whether  it  has  been  direct,  for  its  own  sake.  No 
other  portion  of  the  history  will  yield  better  returns  for  the  time  spent, 
either  in  the  way  of  information  or  of  pastime.  The  story  or  stories  told 
by  the  roster,  if  not  presented  in  pleasing  form,  consisting  only  of  names, 
dates  and  isolated  statements,  will,  nevertheless,  awaken  thought,  and 
will  sometimes  touch  the  heart. 

The  writer  has  spent  considerable  time  in  looking  over  the  roster  of 
the  Twenty-seventh,  with  a  view  of  making  out  the  descent  of  the  men  of 
the  regiment,  that  is  the  race,  or  stock,  of  people  to  which  they  belonged. 
This,  in  some  cases,  is  attended  with  difficulties,  of  course,  and  the  con- 
clusions reached  can  not  be  positive  and  unequivocal.  Still,  anyone 
qualified  for  such  a  study  will  find  it  both  interesting  and  profitable.  We 
had  in  the  Twenty-seventh  not  only  the  representatives  of  the  bravest 
and  most  warlike  races  of  the  world,  but  we  had  also  a  preponderance  of 
the  very  names  that  have  fought  in  all  of  the  battles  for  liberty  and  the 
rights  of  men,  known  to  modern  history,  particularly  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution and  of  1812. 

The  writer  has  also  found  it  interesting  to  run  over  the  names  on 
the  roster  with  the  view  of  simply  noting  the  important  and  often  tragical 
facts  that  abound  so  plentifully  in  connection  with  individual  names,  and, 
in  some  instances,  to  trace  these  facts  along  the  line  of  the  history  of  the 
regiment,  or  in  relation  to  certain  classes  of  persons.  In  other  words,  he 
has  sought  to  answer  the  question,  what  is  the  record  of  this  or  that  per- 
son? or,  what  is  the  record  of  some  particular  two  or  more  persons,  in 
some  way  related  to  each  other,  as  indicated  by  the  roster? 

As  illustrating  the  results  of  such  investigation,  the  roster  shows 
that  a  soldier  in  one  of  the  companies  was  wounded  four  times,  in  as  many 
different  battles.  He  recovered  from  all  of  these  wounds,  however,  and 
turned  up  smilingly  for  other  battles.  He  re-enlisted  as  a  veteran, 
marched  with  Sherman  to  the  sea,  up  through  the  Carolinas  and  through 
Virginia,  to  Washington.  But,  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  he  had 
been  sent  for  muster-out,  a  short  time  before  he  was  to  start  for  home,  he 
accidentally  wounded  himself  slightly,  as  it  first  appeared,  with  a  hatchet, 
while  cutting  tent  stakes.     P>om  this  wound  he  died. 

A  study  of  the  roster  also  reveals  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of 
men  were  wounded  in  every  battle  they  went  into  and  that,  on  the  con- 


558  HISTORY    OF    THE 

trary,  a  large  number  of  others  went  into  every  battle  and,  skirmish  and 
were  not  hurt  in  any  of  them.  In  one  of  the  companies,  at  least,  there 
was  a  man  who  was  wounded  in  each  successive  battle,  until  he  was  fin- 
ally wounded  mortally.  In  one  of  the  battles  his  company  was  detached 
and  was  not  engaged.  Being  away  on  some  duty  when  the  company  was 
detached  he  did  not  know  of  it.  When  he  came  up,  good  soldier  that  he 
was,  he  followed  the  regiment  into  battle  and  was  wounded,  the  only  one 
•of  his  company  exposed  to  fire  that  day. 

No  regimental  roster  of  the  civil  war  deals  justly,  however,  with  a 
large  number  of  individual  soldiers.  Opposite  the  names  of  a  large 
number  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  it  will  be  observed,  there  is  nothing  set 
down  except  the  word  "  veteran,"  or  the  date  of  muster  out.  Many  of 
these  men  were  in  every  battle  with  the  regiment,  and  were  always 
present  for  duty.  They  were  tiptop  soldiers  in  every  way.  But  because 
they  did  not  get  wounded  or  receive  promotion,  there  is  nothing  said 
about  them.  That  they  did  not  get  wounded  was  not  their  own  fault, 
and  that  some  of  them  were  not  promoted  was  not  because  they  did  not 
richly  deserve  it.  Yet  the  roster  not  only  fails  to  give  men  such  as  these 
credit  for  anything  they  did,  but  it  puts  them  exactly  on  a  par  with  those 
who  found  ways  of  dodging  battles  and  who  made  blank  records  in  other 
respects.  In  recent  years  the  rosters  and  discharge  papers  of  soldiers 
show  the  battles  they  were  in,  whether  wounded  or  not,  and  also  indicate 
something  as  to  the  kind  of  soldiers  they  were  in  other  respects. 

With  respect  to  tracing  on  the  roster  the  facts  concerning  particular 
classes  of  men,  large  or  small;  in  one  of  the  companies  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  were  two  devoted  brothers.  One  of  them  was  killed  in  the  first 
battle  they  were  in,  early  in  the  fight.  The  other  not  only  passed  through 
that  battle  unscathed,  but  was  never  touched  in  any  subsequent  battle, 
though  he  was  in  them  all.  There  were  many  other  instances  in  the 
regiment  not  far  different  from  this.  The  writer  was  under  the  impres- 
sion that  there  was  an  instance  where  one  of  two  brothers  was  k'lled  in 
one  of  the  first  battles,  while  the  other  escaped  there  and  at  several  other 
places,  only  to  fall  in  one  of  the  last  battles.  This  he  has  not  been  able 
to  verify  from  the  roster. 

There  were  several  instances  in  the  Twenty-seventh  where  three 
brothers  were  together  in  the  same  company.  In  two  instances  that  the 
writer  knows  of,  personally,  the  fathers  were  along  in  the  same  company 
with  their  three  sons.  In  three  different  Twenty-seventh  companies  will 
be  found  six  of  the  same  name — six  Williamses  in  Company  D,  six 
Deputys  in  Company  H  and  six  Kemps  in  Company  K.  The  latter  were 
two  sets  of  brothers,  three  from  each  family.  The  writer  has  not  been 
informed  as  to  the  others. 

The  roster  also  shows  five  Laughlins  in  Company  B,  five  Whites  in 
Company  D,  five  Van  Buskirks  in  Company  F  and  five  Feslers  in  Com- 
pany G.  There  were  four  Aliens  in  Company  A  and  four  Smiths  and 
four  Fiddlers  in  Company  D.  Common  names  were  represented  in  the 
Twenty-seventh,  in  the  aggregate,  as  follows:  Sixteen  Smiths,  fourteen 
Williams,  ten  each  of  Jones  and  Davis,  nine  each  of  Browns  and  Kemps, 
and  seven  each  of  Whites  and  Evans. 

It  can  scarcely  fail  of  being  a  matter  of   interest  to  trace  on  the 


TWEXTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  559 

Toster  the  fortunes  of  any  two  or  more  names  that  are  the  same,  and  have 
the  appearance  of  being  out  of  the  same  family.  The  interest  is  greatly 
increased  if  we  strive  to  put  ourselves  in  the  places  of  those  whose 
names  have  attracted  our  attention  and  in  the  places  of  fathers  and 
mothers  at  home.  It  is  not  difficult,  then,  to  imagine  how  the  strain 
increased  and  the  sacrifice  became  harder  to  make,  as  one  after  another 
fell  in  battle  or  died  of  disease. 

There  are  several  instances  where  the  roster  shows  that  two  of  the 
same  name  in  the  same  company,  apparently  brothers,  were  both  killed, 
either  in  the  same,  or  different  battles.  In  one  instance,  at  least,  two 
pairs  of  the  same  name,  in  the  same  company,  were  killed  in  the  same 
battle.  The  1st  day  of  May,  1863,  was  muster  for  pay.  The  captain  of 
one  of  our  companies,  for  lack  of  paper,  copied  the  muster  roll  on  a 
drumhead,  and  still  has  that  roll.  It  shows  forty-one  present  for  duty. 
Of  that  number,  five  were  killed  and  twenty-three  were  wounded  in  the 
battle  of  Chancellorsville,  fought  the  second,  day  after  the  muster.  Of 
eight  corporals  on  that  roll,  three  were  killed  and  two  were  wounded  at 
Chancellorsville,  one  was  killed  and  one  wounded  at  Gettysburg,  just  two 
months  later,  leaving  one  of  the  eight,  present  for  duty.  Some  of  the 
companies  may  have  exceeded  this. 

The  roster  of  a  company  is  of  peculiar  interest  to  one  who  saw  much 
service  with  the  men  whose  names  are  upon  it.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  him 
simply  to  read  it  over,  and  he  will  want  to  do  so  occasionally,  just  for  the 
sake  of  old  times.  There  was  a  time,  most  likely,  when  he  could  repeat 
the  company  roll  entirely  from  memory.  He  remembers  distinctly  when 
all  of  the  men  answered  "  here,"  to  their  names.  The  very  intonations  of 
the  "orderly's  "  voice,  as  he  ran  the  names  over  so  rapidly,  and  the  tone 
of  each  individual  voice  in  responding  "  here  " — no  two  of  them  being 
exactly  alike — come  back  to  him  from  that  far-distant  past,  and  it  all 
seems  as  yesterday.  He  is  able  also  to  read  between  the  lines.  Not 
only  every  name  of  a  person,  but  every  place,  date  and  fact  as  well,  is  a 
catch-word  which  as  if  by  magic,  recalls  incidents  and  events  to  his 
mind  until  he  is  soon  engrossed  in  the 

"  Memories  that  drift  afar 
From  those  grand  old  days  of  war." 

It  has  been  a  surprise,  as  well  as  a  disappointment,  to  the  writer  to 
■find  the  material  lacking  for  a  complete  and  satisfactory  roster  of  the 
Twenty-seventh.  The  same  would  be  largely  true  of  any  Indiana  regi- 
ment. The  data  in  the  adjutant-general's  office  of  the  State  are  both 
incomplete  and  inaccurate.  The  names  of  some  well-known  members 
of  the  Twenty-seventh  are  not  found  in  that  office  at  all,  and  many  very 
important  facts  concerning  a  large  number  are  conspicuous  by  their 
absence. 

The  writer  has  not  had  access  to  the  records  in  Washmgton,  bearing 
upon  the  roster  of  the  Twenty-seventh.  They  are  not  open,  or  have  not 
been  to  the  general  public.  From  some  facts  that  have  come  to  the 
writer's  knowledge,  in  an  incidental  way,  he  has  his  fears  that  if  pub- 
lished, they  will  not  be  as  correct  as  could  be  desired,  with  reference  to 
this  regiment  in  particular. 


560  HISTORY    OK    THE 

With  the  exception  of  original  commissions  and  the  promotions  of 
commissioned  officers  (which  itself  is  not  perfect)  no  record  was  kept  by 
the  adjutant-general  of  Indiana  of  promotions,  and  none  such  was  kept 
of  wounds,  either  having  reference  to  officers  or  men.  The  main  trouble 
with  respect  to  the  latter  was  that  no  reports  of  such  facts  were  made  to 
that  office  by  the  officers  of  the  various  regiments,  certainly  not  of  the 
Twenty-seventh.  When  it  came  to  the  matter  of  promotions  of  non- 
commissioned officers,  therefore,  and  the  more  important  one  of  wounds 
(and  in  many  cases  of  deaths)  it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  fill  out  the 
roster  of  the  Twenty-seventh,  to  go  "  wool  gathering,"  here  and  there, 
among  published  lists  m  newspapers,  records  in  diaries  and  wherever 
else  the  facts  were  likely  to  be  found  in  an  authentic  form.  In  this  the 
utmost  care  and  conscientiousness  has  been  exercised  and,  as  far  as  the 
roster  goes,  it  cannot  lack  much  of  being  strictly  correct. 

Previous  to  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  complete  lists  of  the  casualities 
in  the  Twenty-seventh  were  not  published  in  any  Indiana  newspaper,  as 
far  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  learn.  The  published  letters  relating  to 
Buckton,  Winchester,  Cedar  Mountain,  Antietam  and  Chancellorsville 
were  all  more  or  less  lacking  as  to  these  important  facts.  For  these  rea- 
sons, the  roster  undoubtedly  falls  short  of  giving  the  full  number  of 
wounds,  as  it  is  known  to  do  in  giving  the  full  number  of  promotions  of 
non-commissioned  officers.  But  of  all  things,  the  roster  has  not  been  pad- 
ded in  any  respect.  Only  known  facts  have  been  given  a  place  in  it,  and 
no  uncertain  or  doubtful  things  have  been  guessed  at  or  manufactured. 

Only  a  part  of  the  residences  of  the  men,  previous  to  enlistment, 
being  given  in  the  Indiana  Adjutant-General's  report,  and  so  many  of  those 
given  being  manifestly  incorrect,  no  attempt  to  give  any  such  residences 
in  the  roster  has  been  inade. 

The  date  of  muster-in  of  the  original  members  of  the  regiment 
has  also  been  omitted.  The  reason  for  this  will  appear  in  the  body  of 
the  history.  The  Indiana  Adjutant-General's  report  gives  this  date  as 
September  12,  1861.  This  was  so  manifestly  unjust  in  effect,  if  not  in- 
correct in  form,  that  the  men  who  were  alive  and  had  not  re-enlisted,  were 
mustered  out  September  1,1864.  The  correct  date  of  muster-in  varied 
with  different  companies,  running  from  the  8th  to  the  18th  of  August,  1861. 
The  fact  of  the  transfer  of  the  veterans,  and  recruits  with  unexpired 
time  to  serve,  to  the  Seventieth  Indiana  has  likewise  been  omitted  from 
the  roster,  for  brevity's  sake.  That  fact  is  mentioned  in  other  connections 
and  it  was  not  deemed  necessary  to  repeat  it  after  each  individual  name. 

The  word  "  disability  "  in  a  roster,  as  all  soldiers  will  understand, 
means  that  an  examinmg  surgeon,  or  Board  of  surgeons,  had  recommended 
a  discharge  on  the  ground  that  the  man  was  not  physically  able  for  duty. 
In  army  phraseology  he  was  given  a  "  Certificate  of  Disability." 

No  soldier  of  the  Civil  war  will  need  to  be  told  what  is  meant  by 
the  letters  V.  R.  C.  They  refer  to  the  "  Veteran  Reserve  Corps,"  an 
organization,  brought  into  existence  as  the  war  progressed,  composed 
mostly  of  wounded  men,  who  were  still  able  to  do  certain  kinds  of  duty, 
such  as  guarding  prisons,  warehouses,  etc.  Instead  of  discharging  men, 
therefore,  who  were  not  able  to  go  back  to  their  companies,  they  were 
transferred  to  the  V.  R.  C. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  561 

FIELD  AND  STAFF. 

COLONEL, 

SILAS  COLGROVE,  promoted  from  lieutenant-colonel 
Eighth  Indiana;  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861;  Military 
Governor  of  Culpeper  county,  Virginia  ;  Post  Commander 
at  Tullahoma,  Tennessee  ;  commander  of  brigade  at  bat- 
tle of  Gettysburg  ;  member  of  commission  for  trial  of  Indi- 
ana conspirators  ;  promoted  brigadier-general  by  brevet, 
Aug.  7;  1864;  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  and  Peach 
Tree  Creek. 

LIEUTENANT-COLONELS. 

ARCHIBALD  I.  HARRISON,  promoted  from  adjutant  of 
Eighth  Indiana ;  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861 ;  resigned 
Nov.  — ,  1861. 

ABISHA  L.  MORRISON,  promoted  from  captain  of  Com- 
pany A,  Nov.  19,  1861 ;  resigned  Jan.  11,  1863  ;  disability. 

JOHN  R.  FESLER,  promoted  from  captain  of  Company 
G,  Jan.  12,  1863;  commanded  regiment  at  battle  of  Get- 
tysburg and  Peach  Tree  Creek  (after  wounding  of  colo- 
nel) ;  with  regiment  in  every  battle  and  skirmish,  from 
first  to  last.     Mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864. 

MAJORS. 

JOHN  MEHRINGER,  brought  Company  K  into  camp  as  its. 
captain,  but  not  commissioned  ;  commissioned  major.  Aug. 
30,  1861;  resigned  Jan.  15,  1862;  re-entered  service 
and  attained  to  rank  of  brigadier-general  by  brevet. 

WILLIAM  S.  JOHNSON,  promoted  from  captain  of  Com- 
pany C,  March  15,  1862  ;  resigned  July  10,  1862. 

GEORGE  W.  BURGE,  promoted  from  captain  of  Company 
E,  July  11,  1862;  resigned  Feb.  9,  1868. 

THEODORE  F.  COLGROVE,  promoted  from  adjutaut 
Feb.  27,  1863  ;  mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864  ;  with  the  regi- 
ment in  every  battle  and  skirmish. 

ADJUTANTS. 

ROBERT  B.  GILMORE,  promoted  from  sergeant  of  Com- 
pany A;  commissioned  Sept.  3,  1861  ;  transferred  to  first 
lieutenant  of  Company  A,  1862;  mortally  wounded  at 
Antietam,  Sept.  17,  1862  ;  died  Oct.  16,  1862. 

THEODORE  F.  COLGROVE,  promoted  from  sergeant- 
major,  Nov.  19,  1862  ;  promoted  to  major  Feb.  27,  1863. 

36 


562  HISTORY    OF    THE 

WILLIAM  W.  DOUGHERTY,  transferred  from  first  lieut 
tenant  of  Company  H,  Feb.  27,  1808;  with  the  regiment 
in  every  battle. 

C^tUARTER-MASTER. 

JAMES  M.  JAMISON,  commissioned  Aug.  26,  1861  ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1804. 

CHAPLAIN. 

REV.  THOMAS  A.  WHITTED,  commissioned  Sept.  12, 
1861  ;  resigned  Jan.  4,  1863. 

SURGEONS. 

JARVIS  J.  JOHNSON,  had   been   captain  of  Company  G  ; 

commissioned   Sept.  12,  1861;    resigned   July  30,   1862; 

prisoner  at  Winchester,  Virginia. 
WILLIS   H.   TWIFORD,   promoted  from  assistant  surgeon 

Sept.  27,  1802;    resigned   July    14,   1864;  chief  operator 

T%\^elfth  Army  Corps,  1803. 
JOHN  H.  ALEXANDER,  promoted  from  assistant  surgeon 

July  15,  1804;   mustered  out  Nov.  4,  186^. 

ASSISTANT  SURGEONS. 

GREEN  V.  WOOLLEN,  commissioned  Sept.  7,  1861; 
mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864;  left  in  charge  of  hospital  at 
Culpeper,  Virginia,  Aug.,  1862  ;  taken  prisoner  and  held 
as  a  felon  with  other  officers  under  General  Pope  ;  after- 
wards released  and  appointed  surgeon-in-chief  of  Artillery 
Division,  Twelffch  Army  Corps ;  surgeon  in  charge  of 
Seminary  hospital  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  <fcc.,  &c. 

WILLIS  H.  TWIFORD,  commissioned  June  3,  1862;  pro- 
moted surgeon  Sept.  27,  1862. 

JOHN  H.  ALEXANDER,  commissioned  Sept.  27,  1862; 
promoted  surgeon' July  15,  1864. 


REGIMENTAL  NON-COMMISSIONED  STAFF. 

SERGEANT-MAJORS. 

THEODORE  F.  COLGROVE,   appointed   Sept.  12,  1861 ; 
promoted  regimental  adjutant  Nov.  19,  1862. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  563 

WILLIAM  W.  DOUGHERTY,  promoted  from  private  in 
Company  G,  Nov.  19,  1862  ;  promoted  to  first  lieutenant 
of  Company  H,  Jan.  1,  1868. 

JOHN  K.  McCASKY,  promoted  from  private  in  Company 
C,  Jan.  1,  1863;  promoted  to  second  lieutenant  of  Com- 
pany I,  Feb.  14,  1863. 

JOSEPH  E.  WHITE,  promoted  from  sergeant  of  Company 
G,  Feb,  14,  1863  ;  promoted  to  second  lieutenant  of  Com- 
pany G,  March  13,  1863. 

JAMES  R.  SHARP,  promoted  from  corporal  of  Company 
C,  March  18,  1868.     Mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

QUARTERjflASTER   SERGEANT. 

JOHN  A.  CROSE,  promoted  from  sergeant  of  Company  A, 
Sept.  1,  1861  ;   mu'stered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

COMMISSARY  SERGEANTS. 

SIMPSON  S.  HAMRICK,  promoted  from  sergeant  of  Com- 
pany A,  .Sept.  1,  1861;  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  of 
Company  A. 

TARVIN  C.  STONE,  promoted  from  sergeant  of  Company 
A,  Oct.  16,  1862  ;   mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

HOSPITAL   STEWARDS. 

JAMES  M.   RAGSDALE,  promoted  from  private  of  Com- 
pany G;   died   at  Darnestown,  Maryland,  Oct.  22,  1861. 
DAVID  HANSEL,  promoted  from  Company  A,  Nov.,  1861 ; 

Veteran. 

PRINCIPAL    MUSICIANS. 

WILLIAM  WILCOX,  mustered  in  Sept.  1,  1861;  mustered 
out  by  order  of  War  Department,  date  unknown. 

JOHN  F.  TRAFZER,  mustered  in  Oct.  24,  1861  ;  mustered 
out  with  band  June,  1862. 

AMERICUS  S.  APPLEGATE,  promoted  from  fifer  of  Com- 
pany C,  June,  1862;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

BAND. 

Mustered   in   Oct.   24,  1861 ;    mustered   out  by   order  of 
War  Department  June,  1862. 

BENJAMIN  F.  BRUNER. 
THOMAS  CARSON. 
SANFORD  M.  CU STEIN. 


564  HISTORY    OF    THE 

THADDEUS  W.  COLEMAN. 
GEORGE  FRIEDMAN. 
JOHN  FLEEHART. 
CYRENEUS  F.  HORTON. 
JOHN  M.  HAMMOND. 
REUBEN  C.  HAMMOND. 
OLIVER  A.  HAMMOND. 
MICHAEL  J.  JANDEBEUR. 
EZRA  F.  JACKSON. 
WILLIAM  H.  KING. 
REDMON  LASWELL. 
CHARLES  MINHART. 
COLUMBUS  G.  NEELEY*. 
ALFRED  A.  PALMER. 
MATHIAS  SMITH. 
FERDINAND  SCHOEMAKER. 
ISEDORE   SCHOEMAKER. 
SAMUEL  H.  STUCKEY. 
JOHN  M.  STUCKEY. 
FRANCIS  V.  SCALES. 
WILLIAM  C.  WARNER. 


COMPANY  A. 

Greencastle,  the  home  of  Company  A,  is  a  university  town.  Asbury 
University,  now  known  as  De  Pauw  University,  was  the  most  largely 
attended,  before  the  Civil  war,  of  any  institution  of  its  class  in  Indiana. 
While  a  considerable  number  of  Company  A  did  not  live  in  Greencastle, 
several  living  outside  of  Putnam  county,  and  while  the  company  was 
not  "a  college  company,"  there  were,  nevertheless,  a  sprinkling  of  men 
in  the  company  who  had  attended  college  a  longer  or  shorter  period,  and 
the  influence  of  the  university  was  clearly  traceable  in  many  others. 
The  company  contained  more  than  the  average  of  wide-awake,  ambitious 
young  men,  of  some  education,  and  of  evident  force  and  ability. 

For  the  first  fifteen  months  or  more.  Company  A  was  on  the  right  of 

the  regiment.     It  was,  therefore,  always  in  the  lead  when  the  column 

marched  right-in-front.     The  vision  of  its  comely,  soldiery  men  pressing 

•  forward,  with  regular,  graceful  steps,  which,  at  every  sharp  turn  in  the 

road,  was  afforded  to  those  farther  back,  is  still  easily  recalled. 

Captain  Morrison,  afterwards  lieutenant-colonel,  had  seen  service  in 
the  Mexican  war.  After  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run  he  felt  called  to  do 
something,  and  started  out  to  raise  a  company,  putting  his  own  name 
down  at  the  head  of  the  list.  Twelve  days  later  he  reported  to  Governor 
Morton  that  he  had  over  one  hundred  men  ready,  to  go  into  camp. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  565 

The  company  left  Greencastle  August  7,  after  an  open-air  dinner 
and  a  public  reception,  given  them  by  their  friends  and  the  citizens 
generally.  There  was  a  great  outpouring  of  people,  and  abundant 
demonstrations  of  cordiality.  Company  A  has  always  remained  a 
favorite  with  the  residents  of  Greencastle  and  Putnam  county,  being 
accorded  a  large  space  in  the  public  prints,  as  well  as  in  public  esteem, 
both  of  which  it  has  so  richly  merited.  Company  I  being  from  the  same 
county,  no  other  regiment  is  probably  more  widely  known  in  that 
region,  or  more  generally  credited  with  being  a  superior  organization, 
than  the  Twenty-seventh. 

Company  A  was,  of  course,  the  first  company  in  the  Twenty-seventh 
to  arrive  with  full  ranks  at  Camp  Morton.  This,  it  is  understood,  decided 
in  every  case  the  order  of  the  precedence  of  the  companies,  and  the 
consequent  rank  of  the  captains. 

Aside  from  its  rank.  Company  A  always  had  a  prominent  standing 
in  the  regiment.  The  roster  shows  that  one  of  its  sergeants  was  made 
regimental  adjutant  and  two  others  were  made  regimental  commissary 
and  quartermaster  sergeants,  respectively.  In  due  course  of  promotion, 
also,  its  captain  became  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  regiment. 

A  few  days  after  its  arrival  in  Camp  Morton,  the  members  of  Com- 
pany A  filed  a  petition  with  the  Governor,  asking  to  be  sent  to  Terra 
Haute  and  incorporated  into  a  regiment  being  organized  there,  from  their 
own  congressional  district,  exclusively.  Their  wish  was  not  granted,  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  members  of  the  company  are  now  heartily 
glad  of  it,  as  the  members  of  the  other  companies  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  certainly  are;  though  the  latter  knew  nothing  of  the  petition  at 
the  time. 

The  roster  of  Company  A  shows  a  total  enrollment,  officers  and 
men,  of  114.  Three  officers  and  sixteen  men  were  killed  or  mortally 
wounded  in  battle — 16.6  per  cent.  Eleven  of  the  company  died  of  dis- 
ease, accidents,  etc.,  making  a  total  of  30, — or  26.2  per  cent. 

In  the  following  roster  of  Company  A,  as  in  the  rosters  of  all  the 
other  companies,  it  will  be  understood  that  "  Transferred  to  V.  R.  C." 
involved  subsequent  service  (in  most  cases  to  the  end  of  the  period  of 
their  enlistment)  in  the  Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  the  nature  of  which  has 
been  explained  heretofore.  So  it  will  be  understood,  also,  that  the  word 
"Veteran,"  following  any  name,  carries  with  it  the  fact  that  that  person, 
after  serving  two  years  or  more,  re-enlisted  for  another  period  of  three 
years.  The  veterans  of  the  Twenty-seventh  were  all  transferred,  after 
the  regiment  was  mustered  out,  first,  to  the  Seventieth  Indiana,  and  later 
to  the  Thirty-third  Indiana,  as  has  already  been  stated.  They  marched 
with  Sherman,  first  to  the  sea,  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  and  then  up  through 
the  Carolinas  and  Virginia,  to  Washington,  D.  C. 

ROSTER  OF  COMPANY  A. 

Prepared  by  Lieut.  Rankin,  John  Bresnahan  and  others, 
showing  promotions,  woinids  and  manner  of  getting  out  of 
the  company,  with  dates  of  same,  as  far  as  known. 


566  HISTORY    OF    THE 

CAPTAINS. 

ABISHA  L.  MORRISON,   commissioned   Aug.    80,    1801 ; 

promoted  lieutenant-colonel  Nov.  19,  1861. 
JOHN  W.    WILCOXEN,    promoted    from    first    lieutenant 

Nov.  19,  1861  ;  wounded  at   Winchester  and   Antietam  ; 

mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864. 

FIRST    LIEUTENANTS. 

ROBERT  B.  GILMORE,  promoted  from  sergeant  of  Com- 
pany A  to  adjutant  of  the  regiment  Sept.  3,  1861 ;  from 
adjutant  to  first  lieutenant  of  Company  A  Nov.  19,  1861 ; 
died  Oct.  16,  1862;   wounds,  Antietam. 

SIMPSON  S.  HAMRICK,  promoted  from  sergeant  of  Com- 
pany  A  to  commissary  sergeant  of  regiment,  Sept.  12, 
1861 ;  promoted  from  commissary  sergeant  to  first  lieu- 
tenant of  Company  A  Oct.  17,  1862;  killed,  Chancellors- 
ville,  Virginia,  May  3,  1868. 

SAMUEL  D.  PORTER,  promoted  corporal,  ta  sergeant,  to 
orderly  sergeant,  to  second  lieutenant,  Sept.  18,  1861  ;  to 
first  lieutenant  May  4,  1863;  wounded,  Antietam  and 
Elk  River  ;   discharged  April  18,  1864. 

JOHN  R.  RANKIN,  promoted  from  private  to  orderly  ser- 
geant ;  to  first  lieutenant  April  19,  1864 ;  wounded  at 
Gettysburg;   mustered  out  Nov.  1,  1864. 

SECOND    LIEUTENANTS. 

JOHN  F.  PARSONS,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861;  re- 
signed Dec,  1861. 

WILLIAM  VANORSDALL,  promoted  from  sergeant  to  or- 
derly sergeant;  to  second  lieutenant  Feb.  7,  1862;  killed, 
Antietam,  Sept.  17,  1862. 

ORDERLY    SERGEANTS. 

PHILBURD  S.  WRIGHT,  reduced  to  the  ranks  unjustly ; 
discharged  Dec.  18,  1862;   Avounded   in   leg  at  ^Vntietam. 

WILLL\M  ALLEN,  promoted  from  sergeant  to  orderly  ser- 
geant April  1,1862;  killed,  Cedar  ^Mountain,  Virginia, 
Aug.  9,  1862. 

JOSEPH  T.  DENNIS,  promoted  from  sergeant  to  orderly 
sergeant;   mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  567 

SERGEANTS. 

JOHN  A.  CROSE,  promoted  quartermaster  sergeant  of  reg- 
iment. 

TARVIN  C.  .STONE,  promoted  to  commissary  sergeant  of 
regiment;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

NOAH  ALLEE,  promoted  from  corporal  to  sergeant,  Feb. 
1,1862;   killedatCedar  Mountain,  Virginia,  Aug.  9, 1862. 

BENJAMIN  F.  CROSE,  promoted  from  corporal  to  ser- 
geant, June  1,  1862;  discharged,  disability,  April  24, 
1868.      (Died  before  reaching  home.) 

JOSEPHUS  B.  GAMBOLD,  promoted  from  corporal  to  ser- 
geant ;  wounded  in  hand,  New  Hope  Church,  Georgia  ; 
mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

CORPORALS. 

JAMES   BALLARD,   promoted  to   corporal   Sept.  1,1861; 

wounded   in   thigh,   Antietam,   Sept.    17,    1862;     killed, 

Chancellorsville,  May  8,  1868. 
CHARLES  M.   BOWEN,  wounded  in  leg,  Antietam.  Sept. 

17,  1862;  amputation;   discharged  Sept.  8,  1868. 
SPENCER  C.  MONNETT,  discharged  March  14,  1868,  for 

wound  in  left  shoulder,  Antietam. 
JACOB  MICHAEL,   killed,  Winchester,  Virginia,  May  25, 

1862. 
WILLIAM   O.  KENYON,  killed,   Chancellorsville,  May  8, 

1868. 
CHRISTOPHER    C.    SHOWALTER,    wounded    in    right 

leg,  Antietam  ;   killed,  Gettysburg,  July  8,  1868. 
MANUEL     NlCEWANDER,"^   wounded    in     head.     Cedar 

Mountain;   mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOSEPH  N.  BILL,  promoted   to   sergeant   Nov.    12,   1868; 

veteran. 
MARION  J.   ALLEE,  wounded  at  Antietam,  Chancellors- 
ville, Gettysburg,  Resaca  and  Peach  Tree  Creek  ;   veteran, 

(Died  from  an  accidental   wound  received   at   Louisville, 

Kentucky,   July,  1865.) 
GEORGE  TINCHER,  wounded,  Gettysburg;   veteran. 

PRIVATES. 

WILLIAM  T.  AKERS,  mustered  out  Sept.  4,  1864. 
ASBURY  ALLEN,  discliarged  May  11,  1868;  disability. 
GEORGE  W.  ALLEN,  discharged  Dec.  15,  1862;  disability. 


568  HISTORY    OF    THE 

JAMES    ALLEN,    killed,   railroad  accident    near    Alliance, 

Ohio,  Sept.  16,  186L 
GEORGE  BALES,  killed,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 
WILLIAM  BALES,  veteran. 
AMBROSE  D.   BETTIS,   transferred  V.    R.   C,   Aug.   24, 

1864. 
JOHN     BRESNAHAN,    wounded,     Antietam;     discharged 

March  8,  1864;  loss  of  right  arm  at  Chuncellorsville. 
HENRY  BROWN,  deserted,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
JAMES  M.  BROWN,  recruit ;  transferred  to  Seventieth  Reg- 
iment. 
WILLIAM  H.  BRANN,  discharged   Oct.  31,   1862;  wounds 

at  Antietam. 
WOODSON  BRYANT,  captured  at   Winchester,  veteran; 

mustered  out  July,  1865. 
WILLIAM  BURCH,  discharged  Nov.  21,  1862 ;  disability. 
HIRAM  BUSBY,  captured  at   Winchester;  discharged  Oct. 

5,  1863;  wound  at  Chancellorsville. 
FRANCIS  BUTLER,    wounded,    Antietam ;    transferred  to 

regulars  January  15,  1863. 
JOHN  S.  D.  DAY,  transferred  to  regulars,  Nov.  23,  1862. 
JAMES  DEWITT,  captured  at  Winchester;  killed  at  Chan- 
cellorsville, May  8,  1863. 
WILLIS  DEWITT,  discharged  Dec.  11, 1862  ;  disability. 
GEORGE    H.    DODD,  transferred  V.  R.  C.  ;  mustered   out 

Sept.  4,  1864. 
WILLIAM  DODSON,  wounded,  Cedar  Mountain  and  siege 

of  Atlanta;  veteran. 
SIMPSON    EVANS,  discharged  Oct.   28,    1862;    wound    in 

right  shoulder  at  Cedar  Mountain. 
HENRY  G.  EVANS,  transferred  to  regulars   Oct.  27,  1862. 
WILLIAM  ELLIOTT,  veteran. 
SAMUEL  FELLOWS,  wounded    in    head    at    Gettysburg; 

transferred  V.  R.  C. 
JAMES    M.    FOSS,   discharged    Oct.    22,  1862;   wounds  at 

Antietam. 
ERI  A.  GAMBOLD,  wounded  Antietam,  veteran. 
CHARLES  W.  GIBBONS,  wounded  Cedar  Mountain  ;  died 

Baltimore,  Md.,  June  19,  1863,  small  pox. 
EVAN  T.  GRIDE R,  discharged  January  7,  1863,  wound  at 

Cedar  Mountain. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  569 

JASPER  H.  HADDEN,  killed  at  Antietam,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
JOHN  W.  HANSELL,  killed   at  Antietam,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
DAVID  HANSELL,  promoted  hospital  steward;  veteran. 
JAMES  T.  HARDEN,  wounded   New   Hope   Church,  May 

25,  1864,  veteran. 
ALEXANDER  HINKLE,  transferred  to  regulars,  Nov.   28, 

1862. 
THADDEUS  HUNT,  killed,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  8,  1868. 
WILLIAM   H.  HOSTETTER,  mustered  out   September  1, 

1864. 
FRANCIS  M.  HUTCHINGS,  transferred  to  regulars,  Nov 

23,   1862.     Killed   at   battle   of   Opequon,   Va.  Sept.  19, 

1864. 
JESSE  JACKSON,  died  March  27,  1862,  Winchester,  Va., 

pneumonia. 
ELIJAH  JENKINS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
LINDSEY  LAMB,  veteran. 

BENJ.  F.  LANDIS,  mustered  out  September  1,  1864. 
PHILIP  A.  LANE,    discharged    Nov.    13,  1862 ;    wound    of 

right  arm,  Antietam. 
JOHN  LAYTON,  killed  at  Antietam,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
SYLVESTER  LAYTON,  captured  at  Winchester,  died  of 

chronic  diarrhcea  and   debility,  Annapolis,  Md.,  Dec.  27, 

1862. 
JOHN  LEWIS,  veteran. 
JESSE  C.  McCOY,  died  of  erysipelas,  Frederick,  Md.,  March 

12, 1862. 
MARION  MONNETT,  discharged  May  19,  1862;  disability. 
WILLIAM  McGREW,  veteran. 

WARDEN  T.  MERCER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
HENRY  A.  MOVERS,  wounded  in  foot  at  Antietam  ;  killed 

at  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  15,  1864. 
THOMAS  PEARSON,  discharged  Nov.  26,  1862,  disability. 
RICHARD  A.  PROCTOR,  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Va., 

Aug.  9,  1862. 
VALENTINE  PROCTOR,  transferred  V.  R.  C.  ;  wounds, 

at  Chancellorsville. 
JASPER  N.    PARSONS,  discharged  for  disability  Dec.  2, 

1861. 
VAN  L.  PARSONS,  discharged  for  disability  Jan.  14,  1862. 


570  HISTORY    OF    THE 

WILLIAM  M.  PARSONS,  wounded  June  22,  1864 ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  J.  PALMER,  died  of  typhoid  fever,  Durnestown, 
Maryland,  Nov.  12,  1861. 

NOAH  J.  PALMER,  captured  at  Winchester  ;  wounded  in 
shoulder  at  siege  of  Atlanta  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  B.  PRICHARD,  veteran. 

ABRAHAM  PATTERSON,  recruit;  discharged  for  disa- 
bility, Maryland  Hights,  Oct.  28,  1862. 

CHARLES  R.  RAWLINGS,  died  of  typhoid  fever,  Darnes- 
town,  Maryland,  Nov.  20,  1861. 

HENRY  RUTHERFORD,  discharged  Jan.  29,  1863; 
wound  at  Antietam. 

THOMAS  ROBERTS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

HENRY  A.  RUSSELL,  a  Maryland  recruit ;  deserted  May 
28,  1862. 

PATRICK  RYAN,  recruit;  captured  at  Winchester;  dis- 
charged April  24,  1863,  Stafford  Court  House,  Virginia  ; 
disability. 

LEVI  M.  SHOWALTER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JAMES  S.  STEELE,  discharged  Jan.  10,  1863;  wounded 
at  Antietam. 

JOHN  W.  SMITH,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

WILLIAM  L.  SMITH,  recruit;  transferred  to  Seventieth 
Indiana,  Nov.  4,  1864. 

JOSEPH  H.  SMITH,  recruit;  wounded  at  Antietam  and 
Resaca. 

JAMES  E.  SMYTHE,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

DAVID  STEWARD,  died  of  general  debility,  Smoketown, 
Maryland,  Dec.  24,  1862. 

WILLIAM  STEWART,  wounded.  New  Hope  Church,  Ga.  ; 
veteran. 

JOHN  L.  MESLER,  veteran. 

STEPHEN  HARVEY,  deserted  Aug.  9,  1862. 

SAMUEL  M.  STIGGLEMAN,  discharged  for .  disability 
Jan.  14,  1862. 

HENRY  SQUIRE,  veteran  ;  shot  through  breast  at  Antie- 
tam ;  also  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  and  captured  at 
Peach  Tree  Creek. 

WILLIAM  H.  TURNER,  died  of  rheumatism  and  debility, 
Frederick,  Maryland,  Dec.  24,  1862. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  571 

SAMUEL  J.  WALN,  veteran. 

W.  W.  WARNER,  wounded,  Chancellorsville  ;   veteran. 

THOMAS  WELLS,  captured  at  Winchester;  wounded, 
Gettysburg;   mustered  out  .Sept.  1,  1864. 

ELIJAH  IL  WILKINSON,  taken  prisoner  at  Cedar  Mount- 
ain ;  wounded  in  groin  at  Chancellorsville  ;  also  wounded 
at  Resaca ;  veteran. 

CHARLES  E.  WISHMIER,  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain  ; 
killed  at    Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  July  3,  1863. 

DANIEL  B.  WATTS,  recruit;  transferred  to  Seventieth  Reg- 
iment, Nov.  4,  1864. 

JOHN  G.  WILSON,  recruit ;  transferred  to  Seventieth  Reg- 
iment, Nov.  4,  1864. 

MICHAEL  P.  VORIS,  recruit;  transferred  to  Seventieth 
Regiment,  Nov.  4,  1864. 

HARRISON  YOUNG,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  ;  gunshot 
wound  in  mouth  at  Antietam. 

JOHN  T.  DOUGHERTY,  transferred  to  regulars,  Nov.  23, 
1862. 

GEORGE  W.  MORGAN,  recruit;  discharged  for  disability, 
Nov.  15,  1862. 

EARL  MOORE,  recruit ;  captured  at  Cedar  Mountain  ;  died, 
Fairfax  Station,  Virginia,  Jan.  14,  1863;  disease. 


COMPANY  B. 

This  was  one  of  the  two  companies  in  the  Twenty-seventh  accredited 
to  Daviess  county,  though  other  counties  were  represented  in  it.  An 
officer  of  another  regiment,  who  at  one  time  sustained  close  relations  with 
this  company,  has  made  the  statement  that  the  proportion  of  thoughtful, 
self-poised  men  in  its  ranks  was  unusual.  No  better  example  could  be 
found  of  how  the  citizens  of  this  Republic  stand  ready  to  defend  it.  A 
call  comes  to  a  typical  interior  village  of  Indiana.  The  flag  has  been 
assailed  and  the  institutions  of  the  country  are  in  danger.  The  village  is 
not  a  county  seat,  and  lawyers  do  not  abound.  But,  without  delay,  a 
physician  or  two,  an  equal  number  of  ministers  of  the  gospel,  stUl  more 
business  men,  clerks,  school  teachers  and  students  promptly  enroll  their 
names.  Enough  of  the  sons  of  the  thrifty  farmers  in  the  surrounding 
country,  to  make  one  hundred  in  all,  are  easily  obtained,  and  the  com- 
pany is  ready  to  go  into  camp.     That  was  our  Company  B. 

The  names  of  the  men  indicate  that  Scotch  and  Scotch- Irish  pre- 
dominated in  the  company,  as  in  others.  Their  instinct  of  patriotism, 
founded  in  love  of  liberty  and  good  government,  was,  therefore,  a  matter 
of  inheritance;  likewise  their  courage  and  tenacity  of  purpose. 

The  highly  commendable  conduct  of  Company  B  at  Buckton  has 


572  HISTORY    OF    THE 

been  noticed  heretofore.  The  company  books  were  lost  at  that  time, 
which  has  increased  the  difficulty  of  preparing  a  satisfactory  roster.  As 
the  case  stands,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  names  are  upon  its  roll.  Of 
these,  eleven  were  killed  or  mortally  wounded  in  battle,  while  the  same 
number  died  from  disease,  making  a  total  loss  of  twenty-two. 

ORIGINAL  ROSTER  OF  COMPANY    B. 

With  promotions,  wounds  and  manner  of  getting  out  of 
company,  with  dates  of  same  as  far  as  known. 

CAPTAIN. 

JACKSON  L.  MOORE,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861;  re- 
signed Feb.  17,  1862. 

LIEUTENANTS. 

WILLIAM  E.  DAVIS,  commissioned  Aug.  80,  1861 ;  pro- 
moted captain  March  15,  1862;  resigned  Jan.  9,  1863; 
prisoner  from  May  to  Sept.,  1862. 

JOHN  W.  THORNBERG,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861; 
promoted  first  lieutenant  March  15,  1862  ;  promoted  cap- 
tain Jan.  10,  1863;  transferred  to  Seventieth  Indiana,  Nov. 
4,  1864 ;  mustered  out  June  8,  1865 ;  cominanded  Com- 
pany I,  Seventieth  Indiana,  on  March  to  the  Sea  and  up 
through  the  Carolinas  ;  wounded  at  Gettysburg. 

SERGEANTS. 

THOMAS  W.  CASEY,  promoted   second  lieutenant   March 

15,  1862 ;    promoted   first  lieutenant   January    10,    1863 ; 

wounded,  Gettysburg  ;  mustered    out  Nov.  11,  1864;   ex. 

term. 
WILLIAM   HUBBARD,  promoted    second    lieutenant  Jan. 

10,  1863;  discharged  Dec.    12,  1863;  wounds  at  Chancel- 

lorsville. 
IRA  BRASHEARS,  discharged  June  17,  1863;  loss  of   right 

arm  at  Chancellorsville. 
JACOB    RAGLE,  promoted   orderly    sergeant;    discharged 

1862  (precise  date  unknown)  ;  disease. 
JOHN  G." LITTLE,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

CORPORALS. 

PETER     RAGLE,  promoted    sergeant;    wounded,    Resaca ; 
veteran. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  573 

MICHAEL  WALLICK,  promoted  sergeant ;  captured  at 
Buckton,  Va.  ;  wounded  at  Resaca  ;  mustered  out  Sept., 
1864. 

LEWIS  KETCHAM,  discharged  at  Camp  Ilalleck,  Sept.  20, 

1862,  disability. 

ELISHA  GUTHRY,  wounded,  Buckton  ;  killed  Gettysburg, 

Pa.,  July  8,  1863. 
WILLIAM  J.  WILSON,    discharged  1862  (date  unknown)  ; 

disability. 
JOHN    RUSSELL,   captured    Buckton,    Va.  ;  mustered    out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 
SILAS  P.  WAGONER,  discharged  1862;  sickness. 

PRIVATES. 

JOHN  E.  HAYS,  promoted  corporal,  sergeant  and  first  ser- 
geant ;   veteran. 

JOHN  R.  DUNLAP,  musician;  discharged  Jan.,  1862,  disa- 
bility. 

JAMES  T.  McHOLLAND,  musician  ;  transferred  to  V.  R. 
C.  ;  infirmity. 

GEORGE  E.  DAVIS,  teamster,  died  Dec.  12,  1861,  disease. 

JOSEPH  ACHOR,  took  transfer  to  regulars,  1862. 

DUNCAN  ACHOR,  discharged  for  wounds  at  Resaca. 

MILTON  L.  ALLEN,  wounded  Buckton,  discharged  Jan. — , 

1863,  disability. 
THOMAS  ANDERSON,  veteran. 

DANIEL  ARFORD,  discharged,  1862;  wounded  at  An- 
tietam. 

STEPHEN  BORDMAN,  died  Nov.  12,  1861,  disease. 

ALONZO  C.  BUGHER,  wounded  siege  of  Atlanta,  mus- 
tered out  Sept.,  1864. 

ENOCH  M.  BRUNER,  veteran. 

THOMAS  R.  BRUNER,  transferred  V.  R.  C. 

THOMAS  BOWERS,  discharged  1862,  disability. 

BENJAMIN  F.  CHESTNUT,  died  Nov.  27,  1861,  measles. 

WILLIAM  S.  CHESTNUT,  transferred  V.  R.  C,  cause  not 
stated;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  W.  CUNNINGHAM,  discharged  1862,  disease. 

GEORGE  M.  CRITCHLOW,  wounded  Cedar  Mountain ; 
veteran. 

JAMES  COATS,  mustered  out  with  regiment,  September"!, 
1864. 


574  HISTORY    OF    THE 

THOMAS  CHILES,  mustered  out  with  regiment,  September 

1,  1864. 
ALEXANDER   CALLAHAN,  wounded   siege  of  Atlanta  ; 

veteran. 
WILLIAM  COX,  veteran. 
WILLIAM   R.CARSON,    killed  at  Cedar  ^lountain,  Va., 

Aug.  9,  1862. 
JONAS  DAVIS,  captured  at  Buckton;  veteran. 
ANDERSON   DICHERT,    killed   at   Resaca,   Ga.,  May  15, 

1864. 
JAMES  P.  P.  DENTON,  wounded  at  Buckton,  Gettysburg, 

and  New  Hope  Church  ;  veteran. 
THOMAS  J.  EATON,  discharged  1862,  disease. 
JOSEPH  EDWARDS,  teamster,  mustered  out  Sept.,  1864. 
WILLIAM  J.  FLINN,  wounded  Antietam,  killed  New  Hope 

Church,  Ga.,  May  25,  1864. 
WILLIAM  M.  FLINN,  wounded  at  Gettysburg;   veteran. 
MARTIN  FIDLER,  discharged  1861,  disease. 
LEVI  F.  FAITH,  wounded  Antietam,  Gettysburg  and    Res- 
aca ;  veteran . 
GEORGE  W.  GORE,  wounded  New  Hope  Church  ;  veteran. 

Captured  five  Confederates. 
JOSHUA  GAUGH,  died  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  May  14,   1862, 

disease. 
JOHN   HUBBARD,   wounded   Antietam;   took   transfer  to 

another  regiment. 
WILLIS  HUBBARD,  captured  at  Buckton,  died  Belle  Isle, 

Va.,  prisoner. 
JOSEPH  C.  HANNAH,  wounded  at  Antietam. 
WILLIAM      HANNAH,    mortally    wounded    New    Hope 

Church;  died  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  June  12,  1864. 
ROBERT  HERRON,  discharged  1863;  wounds  at  Chancel- 

lorsville. 
JOHNS.  HACKLER,  died  of  measles,  1861. 
GEORGE    W.    HERRONDON,    wounded    Antietam ;  died 

September  19,  1864;  wounds  Siege  of  Atlanta. 
HIRAM  HORRALL,  wounded  Chancellorsville  and  Resaca  ; 

mustered  out  with  regiment,  Sept.  1,  1864. 
HIRAM  IIULAN,  took  transfer  to  regulars. 
HENRY   HARRIS,  transferred    to  hospital,  sick  1861 ;  no 

further  report 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  0<0 

ISAIAH  HOVERSTOCK,  died  Stafford  Court  House,  Va., 

•    1863. 
ANDREW  J,  KELLER,  veteran. 
HIRAM  KINNEMAX,  teamster  part   of  time;  wounded  at 

Antietam  ;  mustered  out  with  regiment,  Sept.  1,  1864. 
MICHAEL  KELLER,  veteran  ;  wounded  Gettysburg. 
SAMUEL  KINT,  discharged  1864,  from  Chattanooga. 
DORY  KINNEMAN,  transferred  to  navy,  1862. 
CHARLES  LUTZ,  discharged  1862,  disease. 
JAMES  O.  LAUGHLIN,  wounded  at  Buckton  ;  transferred 

to  V.  R.  C.  ;  wounds  at  Antietam. 
JOSEPH  H.  LAUGHLIN,  mustered  out  with  regiment,  Sept. 

1,  1864. 
JOHN  D.  LAUGHLIN,  mustered  out   with   regiment  Sept. 

1,  1864. 
JACOB    LAAVYER,  mustered  out   with   regiment   Sept.    1, 

1864. 
WILLIAM  LAL'X,  captured   at    Buckton;  transferred   to  V. 

R.  C,  wounds  at  Antietam. 
MICHAEL  LITTEN,  discharged  1862,  disability. 
HARRISON  LEE,  wounded  at  Resaca  ;   mustered  out  Sept. 

1,  1864. 
WILLIAM   B.   MATHEWS,  captured   at    Buckton.;   killed, 

Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  8,  1863. 
JOHN  MORATTA,  captured  at  Buckton;   veteran. 
DANIEL  L.  McCARTER,  wounded  at   Buckton,  Antietam 

and    Gettysburg;   mustered   out   with   regiment    Sept.   1, 

1864. 
WILLIAM  McMULLEN,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
GEORGE   NUGENT,  disappeared  ;  suspected  of  desertion. 
JOHN  NUGENT,  discharged,  1862,  disability. 
BARTLETT   O'CALLAHAN,  captured   near  Winchester; 

mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
McHOWEL  POINDEXTER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
HENRY  L.  PITMAN,  promoted  corporal;  discharged  1862, 

disability. 
CRAIG  STOTTS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOLIN  W.  SUMNER,  wounded  on  Rappahannock  in  Pope's 

campaign  ;   discharged  1862.  disability. 
REZIN  SUMNER,  wounded,  Antietam  ;   mustered  out  Sept. 

1,  1864. 


576  HISTORY    OF    THE 

JOHN  SHARUM,  captured,  Buckton,  Va. ;   discharged,  1863, 

disability. 
CHARLES  W.  STANLEY,  wounded,  Buckton  ;  captured, 

Winchester;  took  transfer  to  U.  S.  regulars,  Oct.,  1862. 
GEORGE  W.  STOUT,  killed  in  rifle  pit  near  Atlanta,  Ga., 

Aug.  10,  1864. 
WILLIAM   L.    SHIVELY,    wounded,  Antietam ;    mustered 

out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOHN  SPARKS,  wounded  and  a  prisoner  at  Buckton,  Va.  ; 

mustered  out  with  regiment  Sept.  1,  1864. 
RICHARD   TRUEBLOOD,    wounded.  Peach   Tree    Creek, 

Ga.  ;    mustered  out  with  regiment  Sept.  1,  1864. 
ANDREW   J.    VEST,   captured,   Buckton,  Va.  ;    mustered 

out  with  regiment  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOSEPH    B.   S.    WILSON,   discharged   at   U.    S.  hospital ; 

disease. 
JAMES   WAGONER,  killed,  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3, 

1863. 
THOMAS  S.  WIRTS,  took  transfer  to  regulars,  1862. 
DANIEL  WEBSTER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
PIERSON   WAGLEY,  died,  Darnestown,  Md.,  Dec,  1861, 

disease.  , 
ANDREW  J.  WILLIAMS,  wounded,  Antietam  ;   veteran. 
NEEDHAM  WORRALL,  discharged,  1861,  disease. 
ABNER  WILSON,   promoted  corporal ;   wounded,  Resaca  ; 

mustered  out  April  1,  1864. 
JAMES  WORRALL,  discharged,  1862,  disability. 

RECRUITS. 

WILLIAM  ALFORD,  mustered  in  July  15,  1862. 
CHARLES  COMBS,  mustered  in  March  12,  1862;  wounded, 

Antietam. 
HARRY  M.  CORRELL,  mustered  in  July  15,  1862. 
JOHN  DEARMIN,  mustered  in  March  10,  1862;  discharged 

in  1865. 
RUSSELL  DAVIS,  mustered   in  July  15,  1862;    wounded, 

Antietam;    transferred    to    Seventieth    Indiana    Nov.  4, 

1864. 
HENRY   GHRAUN,  mustered   in  July  15,  1862  ;  wounded, 

Antietam. 
JAMES  F.  HERENDEN,  mustered  in  March  31,  1864. 
JOSEPH  D.  LAUGHLIN,  mustered  in  Aug.  8,  1862. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  577 

JOHN  PONTIUS,  mustered  in  Oct.  22,  1SC4  ;   mustered  out 

July  13,  1865. 
SANFORD    H.    SHIVELY,   mustered    in   Aug.    U.    1802; 

wounded,  Antietam. 
JOHN  R.  LAUGHLIN,  disciiarged  ;   wounds  Antietam. 
CHARLES   U.   CORRELL,  mustered   in  March   31,  1SG4; 

died  of  sickness  near  Atlanta,  Ga.,  1864. 
JOSEPH    RICHARDSON,   died,    Dam    No.  4,  Maryland, 

1862. 
SAMUEL  TODD,  killed  at   Chancellorsville,  May  3,  1863. 


COMPANY  6. 

Though  known  as  an  Edinburg  company,  seven  counties  in  Indiana 
and  one  in  Kentucky  were  represented  in  Company  C,  increased  by  two 
more  later  on.  The  company  contained  a  large  proportion  of  bright, 
sprightly  young  men,  with  rather  more  than  the  average  of  education, 
good  manners  and  personal  neatness.  It  frequently  attracted  attention 
and  was  the  subject  of  favorable  comment  on  account  of  the  soldierly 
appearance,  both  of  officers  and  men.  It  left  Edinburg  August  12,  1861  ^ 
entering  Camp  Morton  the  same  day.  For  several  months  at  the  start 
its  officers  did  what  was  not  the  best  for  themselves;  they  employed,  at 
their  own  expense,  a  civilian  drill-master  to  instruct  the  company.  This 
was  one  Ben  Valliquette,  of  "  La  Belle  France."  Like  all  European, 
drill-sergeants,  Ben  could  swear  in  most  of  the  languages  of  the  globe.. 
But  he  knew  also  how  to  smooth  the  wrinkles  out  of  a  raw  recruit.  As  a. 
result  of  his  dilligent  labors  Company  C  was  well  up  in   the  drill. 

The  fact  has  already  been  related  that,  when  Company  C  became 
Color  Company,  the  people  of  Edinburg  and  vicinity  provided  a  beautiful, 
and  costly  silk  flag  for  its  use.  Its  duties  in  connection  with  that  flag,, 
and  the  fidelity  with  which  it  discharged  them,  doubtless  resulted  in, 
fewer  of  the  company  returning  from  the  war. 

Company  C  was  detailed  for  other  duty  and  did  not  get  into  the- 
Battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  as  previously  narrated.  If  the  exceptional 
loss  of  Company  I  in  that  battle  (which  acted  as  Color  Company)  had 
fallen  upon  Company  C,  its  aggregate  battle  loss  would  have  been  ex- 
treme. As  it  was,  18  of  the  106  men,  of  all  ranks,  borne  upon  its  rolls, 
were  killed  or  mortally  wounded  in  battle.  It  also  lost  10  from  disease 
and  1  in  a  rebel  prison,  making  29  in  all — 27.2  per  cent. 

For  obvious  reasons  the  writer  is  in  possession  of  some  additional 
facts  concerning  Company  C.  T\Venty  of  its  men  either  died  of  disease^ 
were  discharged  for  disability,  skulked  out,  or  deserted  (only  three  of  the 
latter),  and  were  never  in  battle.  Five  more  were  never  in  battle,  for 
other  reasons,  not  discreditable.  Hence  only  eighty-one  of  the  Company 
were  ever  in  battle.  To  the  credit  of  those  eighty-one,  therefore,  stand  18 
mortal  wounds  and  66  wounds  not  mortal. 

These  facts  are  stated,  not  to  disparage  other  companies,  but,  rather^ 
to  show  what  was  true  of  all,  if  the  facts  were  obtainable.  The  probability 


578  HISTORY    OF    THE 

seems  strong  that  some  other  companies  even  exceeded  Company  C  in 
these  respects.  Other  regiments  were  required  to  make  greater  sacrifices 
than  the  Twenty-seventh. 

ROSTER  OF  COMPANY  C. 

With  recruits,  promotions,  wounds,  etc.,  and  reason  of 
quitting  the  company,  with  dates  of  same,  as  far  as  reported. 

CAPTAINS. 

WILLIAM  S.  JOHNSON,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861; 
promoted  to  major  March  15,  1862. 

JOSIAH  C.  WILLIAMS,  promoted  from  second  lieutenant 
of  Company  I  Sept.  29,  1862  ;  struck  by  ball  on  foot  at 
Winchester  and  on  leg  by  piece  of  shell  at  Antietam  ; 
wounded  in  thigh  at  Chancellorsville  ;  Post  Provost  mar- 
shal, Tullahoma,  Tenn.  ;  acting  Division  Provost  Marshal 
general ;  commander  Twelfth  Corps  headquarters  guards  ; 
Brigade  Provost  Marshal  on  staff  of  General  T.  H.  Ruger  ; 
resigned  Oct.  5,  1864. 

FIRST  LIEUTENANT. 

ISAAC  D.  COLLIER,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861;  re- 
signed Dec.  — ,  1861. 

SECOND    LIEUTENANT. 

JOHN  FORELANDER,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861  ;  pro- 
moted first  lieutenant  Jan.  1,  1862;  resigned  Sept.  30, 
1862  ;   failure  of  sight. 

FIRST   SERGEANT. 

JOHN  T.  BOYLE,  resigned  to  accept  position  in  C.  S.  de- 
partment Oct.,  1861  ;  elected  second  lieutenant  Jan.  1, 
1862;  promoted  captain  April  16,  1862  ;  permitted  to  re- 
sign under  charges  of  cowardice  Sept.  28,  1862. 

SECOND   SERGEANT. 

OLIVER  P.  FURGUSON,  promoted  first  sergeant  April  16, 
1862;second  lieutenant  Sept.  29,  1862;  first  lieutenant 
Oct.  25,  1862  ;  in  command  of  the  company  at  Winches- 
ter, Chancellorsville  (after  the  captain  was  wounded), 
Gettysburg  and  on  the  Atlanta  campaign ;  regimental 
-ordnance  officer  ;  mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864. 


TWEXTV-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  579 

THIRD  SERGEANT. 

JACOB  A.  LEE,  promoted  first  sergeant  Oct.,  1861 ;  second 
lieutenant  April  16,  1862;  first  lieutenant  Sept.,  1862; 
rendered  distinguished  service  on  Banks'  retreat ;  mortally 
wounded  at  Antietam,  Md.,  vSept,  17,  1862;  died  at 
Boonsboro,  Md.,  Oct.  24,  1862. 

FOURTH    SERGEANT. 

NOAH  N.  SIMS,  promoted  second  sergeant,  Company  Com- 
missary, entire  service. 

FIFTH   SERGEANT. 

LEWIS  D.  PAYNE,  Color  Sergeant  of  regiment;  mortally 
vi^ounded  at  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862;  died  Oct.  25, 
1862  ;  place  not  reported. 

CORPORALS. 

WILLIAM  P.  JONES,  reduced  to  ranks  (rather  arbitrarily) 
for  insubordination  ;  deserted  to  enemy  March  6,  1862. 

JAMES  R.  SHARP,  company  and  regimental  clerk  ;  pro- 
moted sergeant-major  April  12,  1863;  mustered  out  Sept. 
1,  1864. 

ROGER  S.  LONGHERY,  promoted  sergeant  April,  1862; 
second  lieutenant  Oct.  25,  1862  ;  wounded  and  captured 
at  Chancellorsville  ;   mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864. 

GEORGE  W.  WEIR,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  transferred 
to  V.  R.  C.  ;  date  not  reported. 

ISAAC  D.  HARTER,  promoted  sergeant  April,  1863; 
wounded  at  Chancellorsville;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

WILLIAM  H.  BEESON,  promoted  sergeant  Sept.  1,  1863; 
prisoner  at  Winchester  ;  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  and 
mortally  wounded  at  New  Hope  Church;  died  at  Cass- 
ville,  Ga.,  June,  1864. 

JOHN  Q.  A.  CARVIN,  promoted  sergeant  Dec.  23,  1862; 
discharged  July  15,  1863,  for  disabling  wound  at  Chan- 
cellorsville. 

WASHINGTON  DOREN,  on  Color  Guard  ;  promoted  ser- 
geant Jan.  29,  1863  ;  mortally  wounded  at  Chancellors- 
ville, May  3,  1863 ;  died  May  14,  1863 ;  place  not  re- 
ported. 

PRIVATES. 

AMERICUS  S.  APPLEGATE,  fifer ;  promoted  Principal 
Musician  of  regiment,  June,  1862. 


580  HISTORY    OF    THE 

HIRAM  APPLEGATE,  drummer,  a  boy  ;  discharged   Feb. 

6,  1863;  disability. 
JOSEPH    APPLEGATE,    discharged    Oct.     28,    1862,    for 

wounds  at  Antietam. 
CHARLES  S.   APPLEGATE,   father  of  above   three,   dis- 
charged Jan.  31,  1862  ;  too  old  for  the  service. 

ALLEN  APPERSON,  discharged  Oct.  27,  1863,  for  wounds 
at  Gettysburg. 

JOSEPH  AIKENS,  died  at  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  4,  1862; 
disease. 

ELON  ANDREWS,  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

JAMES  A.  ALEXANDER,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  killed  at 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863,  with   12th  U.  S.  Infantry. 

WILLIAM  ABBERCROMBIE,  a  tramp  ;  deserted  at  Indian- 
apolis a  few  days  after  enlistment. 

THOMAS  J.  ACTON,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  ACTON,  died  Baltimore,  Md.,  Dec.  25, 1861 ;  measles. 

EDMUND  R.  BROWN  , promoted  to  corporal ;  declined  pro- 
motion to  sergeant  over  those  absent  wounded  ;  wounded 
at  Antietam  ;  mustered  out  Oct.  1,  1864. 

MERRICK  S.  BROWN,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Chan- 
cellorsville;  transferred  to  V.  R.  C,  date  not  reported. 

JOHN  S.  BAKER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

GODFREY  BAKER,  died  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  1,  1862; 
pneumonia. 

JAMES  H.  BASS,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  took  transfer  to 
regulars,  Oct.  — ,  1862. 

THOMAS  BROWNING,  discharged  Jan.  6,  1863,  for  wound 
at  Antietam. 

JACOB  BROWNING,  discharged  December  1,  1861 ;  dis- 
ability. 

JOHN  BARGMAN,  discharged  May  22,  1863,  for  wound  at 
Antietam. 

SAMUEL  BEEMER,  promoted  to  corporal  and  to  sergeant; 
datee  not   reported;     three   wounds   at  Chancellorsville; 
mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JAMES  BRADBURN,  wounded   at  Antietam   and   Gettys- 
burg; mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  CHEATHAM,  killed   in   front   of  picket  line,  near 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  581 

Smithtield,  Va.,   March    13,  1862  ;  first   man   in  the  regi- 
ment killed  by  the  enemy. 
WILLIAM  J.  CLARK,  transferred  to  gunboat  service  Feb. 

1862. 
HENRY  CRAWFORD,  teamster,  died  at  Kelly's  Ford,  Va., 

Sept.  — ,  1863  ;  disease. 
STARK  CUTSINGER,  discharged  Jan.  10,  1868;  lost  a  leg 

at  Antietam. 
DANIEL    J.   COLVIN,  mortally    wounded    at    Gettysburg; 

died  in  12th  Corps  hospital,  July  6,  1868. 
WILLIAM    CLINE,  died  at   Darnestown,   Md.,    Nov.    18, 

1861,  measles  ;  first  death  in  company. 
JAMES  CALHOUN,    deserter  on  Winchester   retreat ;  was 

seen  north  of  the  Potomac. 
JOSHUA  CHAMBERS,  badly  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ; 

discharged  for  same  April  24,  1864. 
JOHN   DINN,  discharged    Dec.  15,  1862,  for  wound  at  An- 
tietam. 
JAMES  DINN,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  veteran. 
WILLIAM  DOYLE,  discharged  March  31,  1863,  for  severe 

wound  at  Antietam. 
WILLIAM  DEVET,  captured  at  Smithfield,  Va.;  discharged 

July  — ,  1862,  as  a  paroled  prisoner. 
GEORGE  EAST,  promoted  to  corporal;  on  the  Color  Guard  ; 

Color  Bearer;  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Gettysburg. 
WILLIAM  G.    EVANS,  died   at   Strasburg,   Va.,  May  21, 

1862 ;  disease. 
EMANUEL  FULP,  wounded  at  Winchester,  Cedar  Mount- 
ain   (in     ranks    of     another     company)     and      mortally 
wounded   at  Antietam ;   died   Nov.   15,    1^562 ;  place  not 
reported. 
ROBERT  L.  FOSTER,   promoted  to  corporal,   to  sergeant 
and  first  sergeant ;  dates  not  reported  ;  wounded   at   Get- 
tysburg and  New  Hope  Church;  veteran. 
WILLIAM  FRY,  wounded  at  Antietam;  veteran. 
JACOB  FILLMAN,    promoted    to    corporal    and   sergeant; 
transferred  to  V.  R.   C.   for  wound  at  Gettysburg ;  date 
not  reported. 
JOHN  GARDNER,  killed  at  Antietam,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
JOSEPH  GARRISON,  died,  Frederick.  Md.,  Jan.  29,  1862; 
pneumonia. 


582  HISTORY    OF    THE 

1 

WILLIAM  GREEN,  discharged  April  — ,  18G4,  for  loss  of 

arm  at  Chancellorsville. 
DANIEL  GREER,  wounded  at   Chancellorsville  and   New 

Hope  Church  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
ROBERT  GEARY,  discharged  Jan.   13,   1868,  for    loss  of 

hand  ;  accidental  discharge  of  his  gun. 
JOHN  E.  HART,  wounded  at  Resaca  ;  veteran. 
JOHN  HAND,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Gettysburg;   dis- 
charged April  11,  1864,  for  latter  wound. 
JOHN   HINCHEE,  wounded  at  Resaca  ;  veteran. 
OLIVER  JOHNSON,  colonel's  orderly  and   cook  ;  mustered 

out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
EDMUND  C.  JONES,  wounded  at   Antietam   and   Chancel- 
lorsville; discharged  June  30,  1868,  for  latter  wound. 
JOHN  JOYCE,  wounded   at    Chancellorsville    and   Resaca ; 

mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
IRA  KYLE,  wounded  at  Front  Royal,  Va.,  July  8, 1862 ;  dis- 
charged Oct.  25,  1868;  wound  at  Antietam. 
THOMAS  J.  LAY,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  took  transfer  to 

regulars  Nov.  — ,  1862. 
MARTIN  L.  LAYMAN,  killed  at  Antietam,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
JASPER  N.  LAYMAN,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Chancel- 
lorsville, transferred  to  V.  R.    C,  date  not  reported. 
JOHN  LEWIS,  promoted  to  corporal;  mortally  wounded  at 

Antietam;  died  Sept.  26,  1862,  place  not  reported. 
THOMAS  MILLER,  discharged  Dec.  27,  1862;  disability. 
RICHARD   MORTZ,  court  martialed  for  cowardice  at  An- 
tietam ;  court  martialed  and  drummed  out  April  18,  1868, 
for  theft. 
JOHN  K.  McCASKY,  company  and  regimental  clerk;  pro- 
moted to  Sergeant-Major  Jan.  1,  1868;  wounded  at  Win- 
chester.    See  Company  I. 
JAMES  N.   McCOWEN,   discharged   April   26,    1868;  dis- 
ability. 
GEORGE  W.  McGAFFICK,  wounded  at  Resaca;  veteran. 
JASPER  N.  NUGENT,  one  of  the  three  who  stood  in  line 
of  Company  C  through   entire  battle  of  Antietam  ;   died 
of  disease  at  Stafford  Court  House,  Va.,  Feb.  16,  1863. 
ALLEN  OAKS,    transferred   to  V.  R.  C.  for  wound  at  An- 
tietam ;   date  not  reported. 
DAVID  PARKER,  wounded   at  Antietam  and  Gettysburg; 
transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  ;   date  not  stated. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  583 

MORGAN  PITCHER,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  H.  PARR,  killed  at  Antietam,  Sept.  17,  1862. 

CHARLES  F.  PLYMATE,  detailed  as  teamster ;  wounded 
at  Resaca  ;  veteran. 

ALEXANDER  PICKENS,  discharged  May  80,  1862,  dis- 
ability. 

EDWARD  Q_UILLEN,  killed  at  Winchester,  Va.,  May  25, 
1862. 

NATHAN  RICHARDSON,  discharged  March  18, 1864,  for 
severe  wound  at  Antietam. 

JOHN  RUNKLE,  promoted  corporal ;  wounded  at  Antie- 
tam and  Chancellorsville ;  died  of  latter  wound  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  Oct.  25,  1863. 

EDWIN  SPURGEON,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  New 
Hope  Church  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JEROME  SIMS,  promoted  corporal  for  gallantry  at  Antie- 
tam ;  on  Color  Guard;  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va..,. 
May  3,  1863. 

LOUIS  SMITH,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

EPHRAIM  SHOLL,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  for  wound  at 
Antietam,  date  not  reported. 

WILLIAM  SANDIFER,  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.„ 
May  3,  1863. 

JOHN  TREADWAY,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  B.  VANCLEIF,  promoted  to  corporal ;  wounded  at 
Chancellorsville  ;   veteran. 

JOHN  WELLS,  wounded  at  Antietam;  mustered  out  Sept. 
1,  1864. 

JESSE  WELLS,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 

WILLIAM  WAYLAND,  discharged  Jan.  6,  1863,  for 
wound  at  Antietam. 

DAVID  WAYLAND,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Chancel- 
lorsville; transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  for  latter  wound,  date 
not  reported. 

LUTHER  WINDSHIP,  company  teamster;  died  Frederick, 
Md.,  Dec.  31,  1861,  disease. 

LEVI  W.  WILLIS,  promoted  to  corporal  April  1,  1863; 
transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  for  wounds  at  Gettysburg. 

JOHN  YOUNG,  veteran. 


584  HISTORY    OF    THE 

JOHN  ZIGLER,  promoted  to  corporal  for  gallantry  at  An- 
tietam  ;  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  8,  1863. 

RECRUITS. 

JAMES  C.  ROUSE,  mustered  in  Jan.  8,  1862;  promoted  to 
corporal ;  discharged  Jan.  1,  1863,  for  wound  at  Antietam. 

WILLIAM  TREADWAY.  mustered  in  June  28,  1862  ;  cap- 
tured at  Ne\v  Hope  Church,  Ga.  ;  died  in  prison  at  An- 
dersonville,  date  unknown. 

JAMES  ELLIOTT,  mustered  in  April  1,  1862  ;  died  of  dis- 
ease at  Bridgeport,  Ala.,  March  14,  1864,  while  on  detail 
with   Battery  M,  First  New  York   Light  Artillery. 

JOHN  ELLIOTT,  mustered  in  April  1,  1862;  wounded  at 
Chancellorsville. 

COMPANY  D. 

In  the  office  of  the  Adjutant-General  of  Indiana,  the  residences  of 
all  original  members  of  Company  D  is  recorded  as  Lawrence  county. 
This  was  true  of  most,  but  not  all.  The  fact  has  been  mentioned  hereto- 
fore that  several  from  Jackson  county  were  in  the  company.  There  were 
also  a  few  from  other  counties. 

There  was  also  considerable  diversity  in  this  company  with  respect 
to  occupation  and  plans  of  life,  perhaps  more  than  in  others.  The  county 
seat  of  Lawrence  county  has  given  its  name  to  the  celebrated  Bedford 
stone,  now  used  over  a  wide  area  of  the  country.  The  stone  industry  had 
not  attained  to  the  gigantic  proportion  in  that  region  before  the  war  that 
it  has  since.  Still,  for  that  reason  and  others,  this  company  differed  some- 
what from  other  companies  in  the  character  of  its  men.  This  did  not 
militate  against  their  character  as  soldiers,  however,  or  against  the  service 
they  rendered. 

The  company  left  Bedford  August  12,  1861.  The  men  spent  that 
night  under  the  trees  in  the  State  House  ground  at  Indianapolis,  entering 
Camp  Morton  the  next  morning.  The  roster  shows  a  total  enrollment  of 
120.  It  lost  22  in  battle  and  14  from  disease  and  other  causes,  a  total  loss 
of  36.  Fourteen  members  of  the  company  took  transfers  to  the  regulars 
in  1862.  There  were  also  a  large  number  transferred  to  the  V.  R.  C.  at 
various  times. 

ORIGINAL  ROSTER  OF  COMPANY  D. 

Giving  promotions,  wounds,  and  manner  of  getting  out 
of  company,  with  dates  of  same  as  far  as  reported. 

CAPTAINS. 

THEODORE  E.  BUEHLER,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861 ; 
resigned  May  23,  1862. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INIDANA.  585 

JOHN  A.  CASADAY,  promoted  from  first  lieutenant  Com- 
pany E,  April  16,  1862  ;  killed  at  Chancellorsville  May  3, 
1863. 

THOMAS  J.  BOX,  promoted  from  first  lieutenant  May  4, 
1863;  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  promoted  from  first  ser- 
geant to  second  lieutenant  June  2,  1862;  from  second 
lieutenant  to  first  lieutenant  June  2,  1862 ;  wounded 
through  chest  and  prisoner  at  Cedar  Mountain. 

FIRST-LIEUTENANTS. 

JAMES  M.  KERN,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861 ;   resigned 

Dec,  1861. 
THOMAS  PETERS,  commissioned  Feb.  14,  1862;  resigned 

May  29,  1862. 
GEORGE    H.    STEPHENSON,    commissioned    March    29, 

1864;  lost  right  arm,  Resaca ;  mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864. 

SECOND-LIEUTENANTS. 

MEREDITH  W.  LEACH,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861; 
died  Dec,  1861  ;  disease. 

DANIEL  R.  CONRAD,  promoted  from  corporal  ;  commis- 
sioned Jan.  4,  1862;  died  Jan.,  1862;  pneumonia. 

JOSEPH  BALSLEY,  promoted  from  first  sergeant  June  2, 
1862;  wounded  at  Gettysburg  and  Antietam  ;  promoted 
to  captain  Company  H  Dec  11.  1863. 

SERGEANTS. 

THOMAS  W.  PETERS,  promoted  first  lieutenant. 

THOMAS  J.  BOX,  pron-.oted  second  lieutenant,  etc. 

JOHN  PALMER,  discharged  Jan.  15,  1868,  wounds  at  An- 
tietam. 

SILAS  N.  WHITLER,  wounded  Cedar  Mountain;  dis- 
charged March  7,  1863,  wonnds  at  Antietam. 

STEPHEN  J.  REYBURN,  wounded  Antietam;  died  Aug. 
1,  1863;  wounds  at  Gettysburg. 

COKPOKALS. 

WILLIAM  K.  REYNOLDS,  discharged  June  8,  1862,  dis- 
ability. 

JOHN  REID,  veteran  ;  transferred  Seventieth  and  Thirty- 
third  Indiana. 


586  HISTORY    OF    THE 

AUSTIN  N.  WILDER,  wounded  Cedar  Mountain  Aug.  9, 

1862;  discharged  March  7,  1863,  wounds  at  Antietam. 
JOHN  BRIDWELL,  discharged,  wounds  at  Antietam. 
JAMES  RIGGINS,  discharged  Oct.  24,  1862. 
ANDREW  J.  BANKS,  discharged  May  8,  1862;  disability. 
DANIEL  R.  CONRAD,  promoted  second  lieutenant. 
SAMUEL  F.  KERN,  died  Feb.  1,  1862;  pneumonia. 

PRIVATES. 

SAMUEL  R.  LEWIS,  musician;  went  into  ranks;  killed  at 
Gettysburg  July  8,  1863. 

FLAVIUS  POTTER,  musician  ;  took  transfer  to  regulars 
Oct.,  1862. 

JAMES  M.  SEIBERT,  wagoner;  went  into  ranks;  pro- 
moted corporal  and  sergeant ;  wounded  at  Gettysburg ; 
mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JAMES  ALEXANDER,  discharged  Oct.  29,  1863;  wounds, 
Chancellorsville. 

HENRY  ALLBRIGHT,  died  June  7,  1862  ;  wounds,  Win- 
chester. 

ISAAC  R.  ALLEN,  took  transfer  to   regulars  Oct.  24,  1862. 

ENOCH  ANDERSON,  died  July  11,  1863. 

WILLIx\M  B.  ATCHINSON,  killed  on  Mississippi  Flotilla 
Jan.   15,  1862. 

JOSEPH  BALSLEY,  promoted  sergeant,  orderly  sergeant 
and  second  lieutenant. 

BLOOMFIELD  BEAVERS,  killed  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.,. 
Aug.  9,  1862. 

JOHN  BOWDEN,  died  Feb.  5,  1862;   disease. 

HERMAN  H.  BOSSE,  discharged  Oct.  24,1862;  reason 
not  reported. 

ROBERT  BRANNUM,  deserted  Aug.  14,  1862. 

WILLIAM  BRANNUM,  deserted  Aug.  15,  1862. 

JOHN  BROTHERS,  died  June  2,  1862;   disease. 

JAMES  BURK,  wounded,  Antietam  ;   veteran. 

ELISHA  B.  CALLAHAN,  discharged  Dec.  17,  1862;  dis- 
ability. 

DAVID  CARTER,  died  Evansville,  Ind.,  July  10,  1864; 
disease. 

BRISON  CARTER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

EDWARD  M.  GAVINS,  killed,  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May 
3,  1863. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  587 

ELIHU  CLAMPITT,  wounded  and  captured  at  Winchester, 
Va.,  May  25,  1862;  mustered  out  Feb.  13,  1803;  dis- 
ability. 

JONATHAN  A.  COOPER,  discharged ;  wounds  at  Chan- 
cellorsville. 

ELIJAH  S.  CRAWFORD,  discharged  Sept.  27,  1862; 
wounds,  Cedar  Mountain. 

JAMES  H.  CULBERTSON,  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Va., 
Aug.  9,  1862. 

JOHN  DAVIS,  discharged  Dec.  27,  1863 ;  disability. 

LEONARD   DAVIS,  discharged  June   11,1862;  disability. 

PERRY  DAVIS,  died  1863;  disease. 

LEROY  S.  DODD,  discharged  Dec.  10,  1861 ;  disability. 

GEORGE  W.  DONICA,  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va., 
May  3,  1863. 

JAMES  DODSON,  discharged  Aug.  3,  1863. 

FRANCIS  M.  DOUGLAS,  discharged  Feb.  16,  1863; 
wounds,  Antietam. 

CHRISTOPHER  C.  FIDDLER,  discharged,  for  wounds  at 
Antietam.     Date  not  reported, 

JOHN  W.  FIDDLER,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.  14, 
1862. 

WILLIAM  FIDDLER,  died  Oct.  5,  1862,  wounds  at  An- 
tietam. 

JOHN   P.  GARRETT,  discharged,  wounds  at  Gettysburg. 

TERRELL  W.  GERBERT,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Sept. 
24,  1862. 

JOHN  A.  HENSHAW,  killed  at  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17, 
1862. 

EDWARD  A.  HOSKINS,  discharged  Dec.  17,  1802;  dis- 
ability. 

PETER  ISAAC,  captured  at  Winchester,  Va.,May  25, 1862  ; 
died  in  prison,  Lynchburg,  Va.,  July  28,  1862. 

JOHN  M.  JACKSON,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.  24,  1862. 

CLEMENS  JOHNSON,  discharged  Nov.  20,  1862;  wounds 
at  Cedar  Mountain.      * 

JAMES  M.  JOHNSON,  wounded,  Resaca ;  mustered  out 
Oct.  6,  1864. 

THOMAS  M.  KERR,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1804. 

JOHN  W.  KNIGHT,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.  24,  1862. 

WILLIAM  LEWIS,  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3, 
1863. 


588  HISTORY    OF    THE 

JAMES  LITTEN,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.  24,  1862. 

JOSEPHUS  D.  LYNN,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3, 
1868. 

TIMOTHY  MORAN,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.  24,  1862. 

WILLIAM  E.  MULKY,  died  Washington,  D.  C,  Sept.  19, 
1863  ;  wounds  at  Chancellorsville. 

ASA  NEAL,  mustered  out  vSept.  1,  1864. 

HENRY  NEIMAN,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C. 

FRANCIS  M.  NICHOLAS,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct. 
24,  1862. 

THOMAS  NUGENT,  promoted  second  lieutenant  of  Com- 
pany H. 

WILLIAM  PATTERSON,  discharged  April  24,  1863  ;  dis- 
ability. 

DANIEL  PHILLIPS,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  July  1,  1868; 
wounds  at  Antietam. 

GEORGE  W.  PHILLIPS,  discharged  April  24,  1868; 
wounds  at  Antietam. 

H.  C.  F.  L.  PHALMAN,  discharged  Dec.  24,  1862;  dis- 
ability, 

EBENEZER  Q^UACKENBUSH,  mustered  out  vSeptember 
1,  1864. 

EDWARD  E.  REYNOLDS,  wounded  New  Hope  Church  ; 
mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

ADAM  SCHARDEIN,  died  June  18,  1862 ;  wounds  Win- 
chester, Va.,  May  25,  1862. 

HENRY  LOUIS  SCHNEIDER,  discharged  April  18,  1868; 
disability. 

SAMUEL  SIMPSON,  wounded  Resaca;  discharged  Sept.  1, 
1864. 

GEORGE  A.  SKINNER,  took  transfer  to  regulars,  Oct.  24, 
1862. 

WESLEY  SLIDER,  died  April  8,  1863 ;  disease. 

HEZEKIAH  SMITH,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

LORENZO  DOW  SMITH,  discharged  Jan.  5,  1863,  dis- 
ability. 

WILLIAM  A.  SMITH,  deserted  April  4,  1863. 

WILLIAM  H.  SMITH,  killed  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17, 
1862. 

WILLIAM  D.  STEEL,  wounded  Resaca;  veteran. 

GEORGE  H.  STEPHENSON,  promoted  corporal,  sergeant 
and  first  lieutenant ;  wounded  Gettysburg. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  589 

WILLIAM  H.  STEVENSON,  promoted  corporal;  wounded 

Resaca  ;  veteran. 
JOHN  SUTTON,  deserted  June  17,  1862. 
LEWIS  B.  THOMPSON,  took  transfer   to  regulars  Oct.  24, 

1862. 
WILLIAM  THOMPSON,  deserted  Aug.  14,  1862. 
NATHAN  TINDER,  died  Feb.  11,  1862;  disease. 
ELIJAH  TUNNEY,  promoted  corporal   and   sergeant ;  died 

July  6,  1863;  wounds  at  Gettysburg,  Pa. 
SASHWELL  TURNER,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.   24, 

1862. 
SMITH  TURNER,  discharged  May  6,  1863 ;  disability. 
PETER  UNPHRESS,  killed  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 
ABRAHAM  WAUGHTELL,  veteran. 

ELIHU  M.  WELLS,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.  24,  1862 
ADAM  WILLIAMS,  died  Dec.  9,  1861;  disease. 
LABAN  WILLIAMS,  killed,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863 
RUFUS   WILLIAMS,   wounded   at    Gettysburg    and     New 

Hope  Church  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOHN  YOUNGER,  captured,  Winchester ;  died  in  prison  at 

Lynchburg,  Va.,  Sept.  10,  1862. 

RECRUITS. 

JOHN  L.  ASHER,  mustered  March  22,  1864;  wounded 
Resaca. 

CHARLES  M.  ASH,  mustered  Sept.  2,  1862 ;  wounded 
Resaca. 

GEORCE  W.  BERKSHIRE,  discharged  Oct.  1,  1862;  dis- 
ability. 

WILLIAM  H.  BRYANT,  mustered  Sept.  2,  1862. 

SAMUEL  A.  DUGAN,  mustered  Dec.  11,  1862. 

JOSEPH  FIDDLER,  killed  Antietam,  Md.,  September  17, 
1862. 

ELIAS   GRACE,  died  Dec.  12,  1862,  wounds   at  Antietam. 

RICHARD  H.   GREENWOOD,   mustered  Aug.  25,    1862. 

THOMAS  HALL,  killed,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 

JOHN  KIMBREL,  deserted  May  3,  1863. 

BENJ.  F.  KILGORE,  mustered  July  15,  1862;  promoted 
corporal,  sergeant  and  tirst  sergeant:  wounded  at  Gettys- 
burg and  Resaca. 

JOSEPHUS  D.  MYERS,  discharged  April  7,  1863;  wounds- 
at  Antietam. 


590  HISTORY    OF    THE 

JOHN  PARK,  mustered  April  4,  1864. 

MICHAEL  SEEGAR,  died  June  27,  1862. 

GEORGE   WILLIAMS,  took  transfer  to  regulars,  October, 

1862. 
DANIEL  B.  WILLIAMS,  mustered  Aug.  15,  1862;  promoted 

corporal ;  wounded  Antietam   and   Gettysburg  ;  mustered 

out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
ELDRIDGE  WILLIAMS,    mustered    Aug.   15,    1862;   died 

Nov.  12,  1862;  wounds  at  Antietam. 
ELIJAH   WHITE,   mustered  Sept.    6,  1862  ;  captured  rebel 

flag  at  Resaca. 

COMPANY  E. 

The  writer  has  misgivings  about  doing  full  justice  to  Company  E. 
Its  members  have  appeared  to  be  worse  dispersed  than  those  of  other 
companies,  and  those  accessible  have  not  been  able  to  furnish  the  neces- 
■sary  data.  Available  records  have  also  appeared  to  be  less  complete  con- 
cerning this  company  than  others.  The  astounding  fact  has  developed 
that  the  names  of  several  bona  fide  members  of  the  company  are  not 
found  in  Terrell's  reports.  This  has  been  accounted  for  by  the  statement 
that  when  the  company  was  first  mustered  in  more  than  the  maximum 
number  of  men  were  present,  and  that  these  were  taken  along  anyway, 
their  names  being  added  to  the  roll  as  fast  as  vacancies  occurred.  With 
respect  to  promotions  and  wounds  the  writer  is  persuaded  that  the  roster 
of  Company  E  is  less  complete  than  others,  incomplete  as  all  others  are. 

All  told,  122  different  names  are  upon  Company  E's  roster.  Its 
battle  loss  was  18,  and  its  loss  from  disease,  etc.,  10.  The  company  reports 
26  veterans,  a  larger  number  than  any  other  company. 

Three  women,  related  to  some  of  the  members  of  Company  E,  went 
out  with  the  company,  and  remained  with  it  for  several  months. 

ORIGINAL  ROSTER  OF  COMPANY  E. 

With  recruits,  promotions,  wounds,  etc.,  and  manner  of 
quitting  the  company,  with  date   of   same,  as  far  as  reported. 

CAPTAINS. 

GEORGE  W.  BURGE,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861;  pro- 
moted major  July  11,  1862  ;  Provost-Marshal  of  Culpeper, 
Va.  ;  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain  ;  resigned  February  9, 
1863. 

GEORGE  W.  FESLER,  promoted  from  second  lieutenant  of 
company  G,  Oct.  1,  1862;  wounded  at  Chancellorsville 
and  Gettysburg;  resigned  Nov.  21,  1863. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  591 

LIEUTENANTS. 

JOHN  A.  CASSADY,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861 ;  pro- 
moted captain  of  company  D. 

JAMES  STEPHENS,  commissioned  Aug.  80,  1861;  pro- 
moted first  lieutenant  April  16,  1862,  captain  Nov.  22, 
1863 ;  wounded  at  Antietam  and  New  Hope  Church  ; 
mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864. 

SERGEANTS. 

THOMAS  D.  HENDERSON,   discharged  Nov.  — ,   1864; 

disability. 
WILLIAM    P.    HARRIS,  resigned  to   act  as    the  Colonel's 

orderly  ;  mustered  out  vSept.  1,  1864. 
THOMAS  W.  HILL,  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Aug.  9,  1862. 
■GEORGE  W.  RODDICK,  promoted  second  lieutenant  April 

16,  1862;  dismissed  July  18,  1863;  charges  not  reported. 
PATRICK    CURLEY,    captured   at    Winchester;    died    at 

Washington,  D.  C,  Nov.  11,  1862;  prison  hardships. 

CORPORALS. 

JOHN  DYE,  discharged  June  — ,  1863  ;  reason  not  reported. 

ABSOLAM  McDonald,  discharged  1863,  for  wounds  at 
Cedar  Mountain. 

JOHN  HAYMAN,  discharged  Nov.  — ,  1863 ;  disability. 

WILLIAM  P.  ELLIS,  promoted  to  orderly  sergeant;  wounded 
at  Gettysburg  and  Resaca;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

BETHUEL  M.  CLARK,  promoted  orderly  sergeant;  date  not 
reported  ;  promoted  first  lieutenant  March  29,  1864  ;  trans- 
ferred to  Company  A,  Seventieth  Indiana,  Nov.,  1864 ; 
mustered  out  with  that  regiment. 

THOMAS  IMcGEE,  mustered  out  September  1,  1864. 

JOHN  JONES,  mortally  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain;  died 
at  Alexandria,  Va.,  Aug.  18,  1862. 

ROBERT  R.  BRATTON,  promoted  sergeant ;  wounded  at 
Antietam,  Gettysburg  and  Resaca;  veteran. 

PRIVATES. 

ELISHA  STEPHENS,   drummer;  a  boy,  one  of  the  stayers; 

mustered  out  Sept.   1,   1864. 
EDWARD  W.    KELLEY,   w^ent  into   ranks ;    mustered  out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 
MICHAEL  McCORMICK,  wagoner  ;  discharged  Jan.,  1862  ; 

disability. 


592  HISTORY    OF    THE 

HENRY    C.    AUSTIN,    wounded   at   Chancellorsville   and 

Gettysburg;  veteran. 
ANDREW  J.  ARNOLD,  captured  at  Winchester ;  wounded 

at  Chancellorsville  and  Gettysburg;  veteran. 
DANIEL  ALTON,  promoted  to  corporal  and  sergeant;  date 

not  reported;  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  mustered  out  Dec, 

1864. 
THOMAS  AKSTER,  promoted  corporal;  wounded   Gettys- 
burg; mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
WASHINGTON  AKESTER,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ; 

veteran, 
WILLIAM    AMOS,    discharged   April    6,    1864;    cause  not 

reported. 
JOSEPH  T.  BARBOUR,  wounded  at   Chancellorsville  and 

Peach  Tree  Creek  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  4,  1864. 
DAVID    BROWN,    captured    at  Winchester;    wounded  at 

Chancellorsville;  veteran. 
JAMES  BROWN,  discharged  Feb.,  1862  ;  disability. 
ELISHA  BLACK,  discharged,  1863;  disabihty. 
WILLIAM  C.  BOYD,  captured  at  Winchester ;  died,  Lynch- 
burg, Va.  ;  date  not  reported,  prison  hardships. 
JOHN  B.  BOYD,  captured  at  Winchester;  wounded  at  Get- 
tysburg ;  veteran. 
JOHN  BONNER,    wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  transferred 

to  V.  R.  C. ;  date  not  reported. 
JAMES   M.  BOMER,  veteran. 
ELI  E.  BARNES,  promoted  corporal;  mustered  out  Sept.  1, 

1864. 
JOHN  CONNELLY,  detached  to  gunboat  service  Jan.,  1862. 
JOSEPH   CARROLL,    captured    at    Winchester;    killed  at 

Chancellorsville,  Va  ,  May  3,  1863. 
SOLOMON  COX,    mortally   wounded    at    Chancellorsville, 

Va.,  May  3, 1863  ;  died  May  14, 1863  ;  place  not  reported. 
JAMES  M.  CHAPMAN,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3, 

1863. 
ROBERT  GRAYS,  wounded  on  picket,  Strasburg,  Va.,May, 

1862;  discharged  Dec,  1862;  disability. 
MICHAEL  COCHRAN,  detached  to  Battery  M,  First  N.  Y. 

Light  Artillery,  April  30,  1862. 
LEWIS  CLARK,  died,  Alexandria,  Va.,  Dec.  11,  1863  ;  cause 

not  reported. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  593 

JAMES  H.  DOUGHERTY,  promoted  to  corporal ;  wounded 
at  Resaca  ;  veteran, 

WILLIAM  DOANE,  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  mustered  out 
Sept.  15,  1864. 

JOSEPH  A.  DAVIS,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  veteran. 

JAMES  EDWARD,  veteran. 

DAVID  EVERHEART,  promoted  to  corporal  and  to  ser- 
geant, dates  not  reported ;  wounded  at  Chancellorsville 
and  Peach  Tree  Creek  ;   veteran. 

EDWIN  FREEMAN,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  transferred  to 
V.  R.  C,  date  not  reported. 

JOHN  FITZGERALD,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;    discharged 

1863,  disability. 

JONATHAN  GREGORY,  discharged  1863,  cause  and  exact 

date  not  reported. 
BENJAMIN  T.  GREGORY,  captured  at  Winchester  ;  died 

Washington,  D.  C,  Dec.  7,  1862,  prison  exposure. 
THOMAS  B.   GREGORY,  killed  at   Resaca,  Ga.,  May  15, 

1864. 
DAVID  GRANY,  deserted,  date  not  reported. 
WILLIAM    GAINOR,    died    Fredrick,    Md.,    Dec,    1861, 

disease. 
GEORGE  GESLER,    mustered  out   Sept.   1,  1864;  died  on 

the  way  home,  cause  not  reported. 
MARTIN   V.   GILLY,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  veteran. 
JOB  GILLY,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  transferred  to  V. 

R.  C,  date  not  reported. 
JAMES  HERINSHAW,  killed  at  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17, 

1862. 
JACKSON  HOPPER,  wounded  at  Peach  Tree  Creek  ;  mus- 
tered out  Nov.,  1864. 
JOSEPH  HAWKINS,  died  at  Williamsport,  Md.,  Dec.   2, 

1862,  disease. 
WILLIAM   HENNING,  wounded  at   Antietam;  subsequent 

history  not  reported. 
HENRY  HUSKES,  died   at   Washington.  D.   C,  Sept.   12, 

1862,  disease. 
GEORGE  W.  HONEY,  died  near  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Aug.   14, 

1864,  disease. 

WILLIAM  S.   JONES,    wounded    at    Antietam    and    New 

Hope  Church  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOSEPH   R.  JONES,  wounded  at  Antietam;  veteran. 

38 


§94  HISTORY    OF    THE 

JOHN  JACKSON,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  and  Res- 
aca  ;  veteran. 

JOHN  R.  KELLER,  killed   at   Resaca,  Ga.,  May  15,  1864. 

THOMAS  LAYTON,  died  Jan.  9,  1862,  disease,  place  not 
reported. 

JOHN   LATTIMORE,  veteran. 

NATHAN  LOGAN,  killed  at  Antietam,Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 

ANDREW  LANGTON,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Chan- 
cellorsville ;  discharged  for  latter,  Feb.  19,  1864. 

JAMES  LASHLEY,  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  mortally 
wounded  at  New  Hope  church ;  died  June  25,  1864, 
place  not  reported. 

ERASTUS  LANE,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  transferred  to  V. 
R.  C,  date  not  reported. 

EMANUEL  McLANE,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  for  wounds, 
date  and  place  not  reported. 

WILLIAM  H.  MEARS,  wounded  at  New  Hope  church, 
Georgia,  May  25,  1864,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

FREDRICK  S.  MEARS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  MURAT,  wounded  Antietam,  Resaca  and  Atlanta; 
mustered  <  ut  Sept.  1,  1864. 

ROBERT  R.  MARSHALL,  wounded  at  New  Hope  church; 
veteran. 

JAMES  MAXWELL,  wounded  at  Resaca  ;  transferred  to  V. 
R.  C.  ;  date  not   reported. 

; SAMUEL  T.  OSMAN,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  ;  for  wounds 
at  Gettysburg ;  date  not  reported. 

JOHN  F.  PALMER,  promoted  corporal  and  sergeant;  dates 
not  reported;  veteran. 

NELSON  PURCELL,  wounded  at  New  Hope  church;  vet- 
eran. 

PHILLIP  ROSS,  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.,  Aug.  9, 
1862. 

JOSIAH  ROBINSON,  promoted  corporal ;  wounded  at  An- 
tietam ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

■GREEN  STREET,  discharged,  1862;  date  and  cause  not  re- 
ported. 
BERRY  STREET,  wounded  at  Peach  Tree  Creek  ;  mustered 

out  Feb.  7,  1865. 
THOMAS  J.  SWAN,  deserted  May  3,  1863. 

DANIEL  S.  SPARKS,  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.,  Aug. 
9,  1862. 


TWEXTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  595 

FRANKLIN   SMITH,  killed  at  Antietam,  Md.,    Sept.    17, 

1862. 
JAMES  B.  L.  SHEPHERD,  veteran. 

ELIJAH    H.  TOMMY,    wounded   at   Antietam;  leg  ampu- 
tated; discharged  Feb.  17,  1863. 
JOHN    A.    THOMAS,    wounded     (severe)    at    New    Hope 

church  ;  veteran. 
JOHN  J.  WILLIAMS,  died,  Darnestown,  Md.,  Nov.  9,  1861; 

disease. 
JOHN  WEBBER,  killed  at  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga.,  July  20, 

1864. 
WILLIAM  H.  WILSON,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa..  July  3, 

1863. 
SAMUEL  S.  WEAVER,  promoted  to  corporal  and  sergeant ; 

date  not  reported;  captured  at  Winchester;  wounded   at 

Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg  and  Resaca  ;  veteran. 
CHARLES   H.  WEAVER,  promoted  corporal ;  captured  at 

Winchester,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville;  veteran. 
SAMUEL  F.  WEBBER,  veteran. 
JORDON  WELCH,  wounded  at  Resaca;  veteran. 
SETH  WHITE,  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain  and  New  Hope 

church;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
GEORGE  W.  WHITE,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C,  for  wounds 

at  Chancellorsville  ;  date  not  reported. 
AMOS  WHITE,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Chancellorsville  ; 

mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
IVY   (or   Ira)    WILSON,  died,  Winchester,  Va.,  March  21, 

1862  ;  disease. 
JOHN  WILLIAMS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
ALBERT  G.   WILLIAMS,   discharged  Sept.,   1862;   cause 

not  reported. 
WILLIAM  WAGONER,   promoted  to   corporal  ;   wounded 

Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg  and  Peach  Tree  Creek  ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOHN    G.    W^ALLACE,    promoted    corporal ;    wounded    at 

Chancellorsville  and  Resaca;  veteran. 

KECRUITS. 

HILLIARD    G.    BALDWIN,    mustered    in   July  28,   1862; 

killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  Alay  3,  1863. 
JAMES   S.  BOYD,  mustered   in  Jan.  8,  1864;   wounded  at 

Resaca. 


596  HISTORY    OF    THE 

DANIEL  CLAYTON,  mustered  in  July  28,  1862. 
JEFFREY  J.   COX,  mustered  in  March  26,  1864;   wounded 

at  Resaca. 
JOHN  F.  CHAPMAN,  mustered  in  Aug.  1,  1862;  wounded 

at  Antietam. 
JOHN  B.  JONES,   mustered   in    March  26,  1862;   mortally 

wounded  at   Cedar  Mountain   Aug.    9,    1862 ;   date   and 

place  of  death  not  reported, 
MARION  JONES,  mustered  in  Feb.  12,  1864. 
MARION  McADAMS,  mustered  in  Feb.  12,  1864;   wounded 

at  New  Hope  Church, 
JARRETT-W.  MARTIN,  mustered  in  Feb.  12,  1864. 
DANIEL  MOUCHAM,  mustered  in  March  3, 1864;  wounded 

at  New  Hope  Church. 
PHILIP  OSMAN,  mustered  in  March  3,  1864;   wounded  at 

Resaca. 
WILLIAM  STIPES,   mustered  in   July  28,  1862;   wounded 

at  New  Hope  Church. 
NOAH  P.  STUCKEY,  mustered  in  March  26,  1864. 
ANDREW  WHITE,  mustered  in  ^larch  26,  1864;  wounded 

at  Resaca. 
THOMAS  WHITE,  mustered  in  March  26,  1864. 
ROBERT  S.  WILSON,  mustered  in  March  26,  1864. 


COMPANY  F. 

This  Company  was  peculiar  at  the  start  in  at  least  three  respects 
First,  it  had  three  very  tall  men  for  commissioned  ofificers;  two  of  them 
being  the  tallest  men  in  the  regiment,  and  one  being  the  tallest  in  the 
Union  army.  Secondly,  it  had  more  tall  men  than  any  other  company 
in  the  Twenty-seventh.  Thirdly,  the  homes  of  its  members  were  the 
most  widely  scattered  over  the  state. 

Company  F  was  frequently  called  "  The  New  Albany  Railroad  Com- 
pany." It  was  also  twitted  good  humoredly  as  hailing  from  "  between 
the  two  state  prisons."  New  Albany  and  Michigan  City,  at  opposite  ex- 
tremes of  Indiana,  almost  three  hundred  miles  apart,  were  represented 
in  the  company,  as  well  as  many  of  the  towns  between  them.  The 
prominent  reason  for  this  was  that  several  of  the  company  had  been  em- 
ployees of  the  railroad  connecting  these  two  points. 

An  officer  of  such  giant-like  stature  as  Lieutenant  (afterward  Cap- 
tain) Van  Buskirk  could  not  fail  to  invest  a  company  with  some  special 
interest.  This  is  still  more  evident  when  it  is  remembered  that  in  his 
disposition  and  habits  he  was  almost  as  different  from  others  as  in  his 
stature.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  simple,  unaffected  and  kindly  ways. 
He  was  always  approachable,  to  everybody  and  he  had  no  hesitancy  in. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  597 

approaching  others.  A  major-general  was  no  more  to  him  than  a  private 
soldier.  Owing  to  his  absolute  sincerity  and  utter  absence  of  asperity,  as 
much  as  to  his  size,  no  one  ever  took  offense  at  anything  he  said.  Some 
of  the  younger  officers  of  Company  F  ranked  high  as  military  men  and 
the  company  was  always  considered  as  equal  to  the  best. 

This  company  arrived  in  Camp  Morton  August  7,  1861.  It  shows  a 
total  enrollment  of  one  hundred  and  five.  Its  battle  loss  was  twelve,  and 
from  other  causes  eight. 

ORIGINAL  ROSTER  OF  COMPANY  F. 

Showing  promotions,  wounds  and  manner  of  getting  out 
of  the  company,  with  dates  of  same,  as  far  as  known. 

CAPTAIN. 

PETER  KOPP,  commissioned  Aug.  80,  1861  ;  wounded  at 
Winchester;  mortally  wounded  at  Antietam  .Sept.  17, 
18G2;  place  and  date  of  death  not  reported. 

LIEUTENANTS. 

FRANCIS  OTTWELL,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  18G1 ;  re- 
signed to  enter  V.  R.  C.  June  24,  1862. 

DAVID  VAN  BUSKIRK,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861; 
promoted  first  lieutenant  July  1,  1862,  and  to  captain 
Sept.  19,  1862;  prisoner  at  Winchester  ;  resigned  April 
26,  1864,  disabihty. 

SERGEANTS. 

JOHN  D.  McKAHIN,  promoted   second   lieutenant  July  5, 

1862,  and  captain  of  Company  H  Oct.  1,  1862;  wounded 

at  Antietam. 
JOHN  M.   BLOSS,  promoted  first  sergeant  July,  1862,  first 

lieutenant   Sept.   17,  1862,  and   captain   April   27,   1864; 

wounded  at  Winchester,  Antietam,  Chancellorsville  and 

Resaca  ;  served  extensively  as  commander  of  Pioneers  and 

superintendent  of  bridge  and  stockade  building  ;  mustered 

out  Nov.  4,  1864. 
JAMES  CAMPBELL,  promoted  second  sergeant  July,  1862; 

discharged  (date  unknown),  wounds  at  Antietam. 
HARVEY   DODD,  transferred  to  ambulance  corps  in  1861; 

mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JAMES  G.   BAKER,    promoted   first  sergeant    Sept.,  1862, 

and  first  lieutenant  April  27,  1864;  mustered  out  Nov.  4, 

1864 ;  wounded  at  Gettysburg. 


598  HISTORY    OF    THE 

CORPORALS. 

ISAAC  VAN  BUSKIRK,  promoted  Regimental  Wagon- 
Master  Sept.,  1861,  and  second  lieutenant  Sept.  18,  1862  ; 
mortally  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  died  Acquia  Creek, 
Va.,  May  20,  1868. 

JAMES  DAVIS,  promoted  sergeant;  discharged  1862  (date 
imknown),  disability. 

ISAAC  VAN  BUSKIRK  (No.  2),  discharged  1864  (date 
unknown),  disability;  prisoner  at  Winchester. 

JOSEPH  V.  KENTON,  promoted  to  sergeant ;  wounded  at 
Antietam  ;  discharged  Jan.  8,  1864,  for  wound  at  Gettys- 
burg. 

ELIJAH  Mcknight,  promoted  sergeant ;  killed  at  Gettys- 
burg July  8,  1864. 

CALVIN  ARTHUR,  promoted  sergeant  and  orderly-ser- 
geant ;  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Atlanta  ;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

WILLIAM  W.  OSBORNE,  sent  to  general  hospital  Balti- 
more, Md.,  1861;  subsequent  history  unknown. 

BARTON  W.  MITCHELL,  finder  of  Lost  Order;  dis- 
charged, date  unknown,  wound  at  Antietam. 

PRIVATES. 

GEORGE  W.   COINS,  fifer ;  died  Feb.  27,  1862,  disease. 

WILLIAM  S.  OTTWELL,  drummer  (a  boy)  ;  discharged 
June  24,  1862,  disability. 

JOHN  SOUTH,  wagoner;  discharged  1868,  date  unknown, 
disability. 

THOMAS  ARD,  wounded  Antietam  and  Chancellorsville; 
transferred  to  V.  R.  C. 

BENJAMIN  ARTHUR,  wounded  at  Newtown,  Va.  ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1, 1864. 

JAMES  S.  ARTHUR,  discharged,  date  unknown,  wounds 
at  Antietam. 

DAVID  BUTTLER,  detached  to  Western  gunboat  service 
Jan.,  1862. 

WILLIAM  BROWN,  died  of  disease  at  Darnestown,  Md., 
1861,  date  unknown. 

BENJAMIN  F.  BOURNE,  prisoner  at  Winchester ;  trans- 
ferred to  C.  S.  department,  1862. 

ENOCH  G.  BOICOURT,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864;  an 
excellent  soldier. 


TWENTY -SEVENTH    INDIANA.  599" 

JOSHUA  BUNNELL,  discharged,  date  unknown,  wound  at 
Antietam. 

WILLIAM  BARNES,  died  of  disease  at  Darnestown,  Md., 
18G1,  date  not  reported. 

JAMES  H.  BURK,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.,  1862; 
mustered  out  vSept.  1,  1864. 

DANIEL  BURK,  wounded  at  Peach  Tree  Creek  ;  mustered 
out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  CAMPBELL,  wounded  at  Antietam,  Gettysburg  and 
Resaca  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

BENJAMIN  V.  CAMPBELL,  died  of  disease,  Camp  Hal- 
leck,  Md.,  1862;  date  not  reported. 

ALFRED  L.  CANTWELL,  mortally  wounded  at  Antietam, 
Sept.  17,  1862;   date  of  death  unknown. 

DAVID  COOK,  prisoner  at  Winchester ;  mortally  wounded 
at  Resaca,  May  15,  1864;  died  May  27,  1864. 

JESSE  K.  DENNY,  died  of  disease.  Berry ville,  Va.,  1862; 
date  not  reported. 

DAWSON  DENNY,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

THOMAS  DOUGLASS,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.,  1862. 

HENRY  DANIELS,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  ;  date  un- 
known ;  too  old  for  active  service. 

WALLACE  EDWARDS,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct., 
1862. 

WILLIAM  W.  EDWARDS,  wounded  at  Winchester;  dis- 
charged, date  unknown,   wounds,  Antietam. 

GEORGE  EDWARDS,  wounded  and  prisoner  at  Winches- 
ter ;   killed  at  Resaca,  May  15,  1864. 

WILLIAM  EADS,  discharged,  date  unknown,  wounds  at 
Antietam. 

JAMES  M.  FOSTER,  discharged,  1862,  date  unknown; 
disability. 

THOMAS  J.  FREEMAN,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

THOMAS  M.  GASCON,  discharged,  date  unknown, 
wounds  at  Antietam. 

SAMUEL  GASCON,  promoted  corporal  and  sergeant,  dates 
unknown  ;   mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  GILLASPIE,  mortally  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  died 
Dec.  22,  1862. 

WILLIAM  H.  GILLASPIE,  discharged  1862,  date  un- 
known, wounds  at  Antietam. 


600  HISTORY    OF    THE 

HENRY  C.  GABBERT,  wounded  at  Winchester  and  An- 
tietam  ;   discharged  1862,  date  not  reported. 

TILLMAN  H.  GENTRY,  discharged,  date  unknown  ;  loss 
of   leg  at  Antietam. 

ROBERT  GREGORY,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.,  1862. 

EPHRAIM  M.   GOSS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  GROVES,  promoted  corporal ;  wounded  at  Gettys- 
burg ;   veteran. 

REUBEN  HENDRICKSON,  wounded  at  Gettysburg; 
killed  at  Resaca,  May  15,  1864. 

MICHAEL  HEALEY,  prisoner  at  Winchester ;  discharged 
1862,  date  unknown  ;  disability. 

GREENBERRY  HANCOCK,  discharged  1862,  date  un- 
known ;  disability. 

WILLIAM  H.  HUSHAW,  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  veteran. 

SAIvIUEL  HOLLER,  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

MARTIN  HOOVER,  wounded  at  New  Hope  Church  ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  18G4. 

JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSON,  promoted  corporal  and  sergeant  : 
dates  unknown;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

ROBERT  JOHNSON,  reported  a  deserter  after  the  battle  of 
Winchester,  May  25,  1862. 

LEONIDAS  JAMES,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  LARKINS,  prisoner  at  Winchester;  wounded  at 
New  Hope  Church  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

FRANKLIN  LEMMONS,  wounded  at  Winchester  and  Get- 
tysburg ;  veteran. 

ABRAHAM  LUYSTER,  prisoner  at  Winchester  :  killed  at 
Gettysburg  July  2,  1868. 

HENRY  LUTZ,  deserted  Aug.,  1S62. 

JAMES  LEFEVER,  deserted  Aug.,  1862. 

THOMAS  McGINNIS,  promoted  corporal  ;  wounded  at  An- 
tietam ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

PHILLIP  McMANNIS,  discharged;  date  unknown;  wound 
at  Antietam. 

LINDSEY  A.  MULLEN,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  mustered 
out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

MARTIN  O'CONNELL,  died  of  disease,  Chattahoochee 
River,  Ga.,  1864;  date  unknown. 

FRANCIS  A.  OTTWELL,  discharged  ;  wound  at  Antietam, 
date  unknown. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  601 

THOMAS  p.  OTWELL,  discharged  June  24,  1802;  dis- 
ability. 

JOHN  PARHAM,  mustered  out  vSept.  1,  1864. 

ARTHUR  PRATT,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1564. 

THOMAS  PRATT,  killed  in  rifle  pit,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Aug.  1. 
1804. 

JOHN  REAM,  discharged  1804;  date  not  reported;  dis- 
ability. 

WILLIAM  C.  RILEY,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1804. 

ENOCH  RICHARDSON,  wounded  at  Resaca ;  mustered 
out  Sept.  1,  1804. 

PETER  R^'AN,  discharged,  date  unknown  ;  wound  at  Get- 
tysburg; only  recorded  case  of  recovery  from  peculiar 
wound  in  head. 

THEODORE  F.  RODGERS,  promoted  corporal  ;  mustered 
out  Sept.  1,  1804. 

CHARLES  SMITH,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C;  date  unknown  ; 
debility. 

MARK  C.  SHEPHERD,  lost  a  finger  by  accident ;  mustered 
out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

HENRY  SIPES,  died  Nov.  28,  1861;  measles. 

JAMES  D.  SHERMA.N,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Resaca  ; 
mustered  out  vSept.  1,  1804. 

ROBERT  M.  TATLOCK,  died  Frederick,  Md.,  1802,  date 
unknown  ;  disease. 

JOSHUA  TATLOCK,  discharged,  date  unknown  ;  wound 
at  Antietam. 

THOMAS    TODD,  died  at  Washington,  Dec.  3,  1802. 

JOHN  THOMAS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1804;  died  before 
reaching  home. 

JOSEPH  D.  TROLLINGER,  promoted  corporal;  mortally 
wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  date  and  place  of  death  un- 
known. 

DAVID  B.  VANCE,  discharged,  date  unknown  ;  wound  at 
Antietam. 

SAMUEL  REED  VINSON,  discharged,  date  unknown; 
wound  at  Antietam. 

HENRY  VAN  VOORST,  company  and  regimental  clerk; 
declined  promotion  over  others;  wounded  at  Antietam, 
Chancellorsville  and  Resaca;  discharged  Oct.  18,  1804. 

JOHN  V^AN  BUSKIRK,   promoted  corporal,   sergeant  and 


G02  HISTORY    OF    THE 

orderly-sergeant,  dates  unknown  ;  wounded  at  Chancel- 
lorsville;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

MICHAEL  H.  VAN  BUSKIRK,  promoted  corporal;  pris- 
oner at  Winchester ;  wounded  at  New  Hope  Church ; 
mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

WILLIAM  WILLIAMS,  discharged,  date  unknown;  wound 
at  Chancellorsville. 

JOHN  WILLIAMS,  discharged,  date  unknown  ;  loss  of  leg 
at  Antietam. 

ALFRED  WILSON,  mortally  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ; 
died,  Washington,  D.  C,  July  8,  1868. 

GEORGE  W.  WELCH,  wounded  at  Resaca  and  New  Hope 
Church;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

BENJAMIN  F.WHITE,  died  of  disease ;  date  and  place 
unknown. 

JOHN  WEAVER,  wounded  ot  Antietam  and  Resaca,  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

RECRUITS. 

FRANK  EBERLING,  mustered  in  April  1,  1864. 

JAMES  B.  GELLESPIE,  mustered  in  April  5,  1862;  dis- 
charged, date  unknown  ;  wound  at  Antietam. 

HOWARD  HENSLEY,  mustered  in  March  5,  1862  ;  dis- 
charged, date  unknown;  wound  at  Antietam. 

CHRISTOPHER  SNEIDER,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville; 
deserted  from  hospital  and  re-enlisted  in  another  reg- 
iment. 

60MPANY  G. 

As  Company  G  was  from  Morgantown  and  vicinity,  it  was  natural 
that  Brown  and  Johnson  counties  should  have  representatives  in  it,  as 
well  as  Morgan.  In  another  respect,  also,  this  was  a  border  company. 
It  hailed  from  the  border  between  Union  and  Secession  sentiment.  A 
Union  soldier  need  not  go  far  from  Morgantown  to  find  himself  in  the 
enemy's  country.  This  was  true,  of  course,  of  all  the  men  in  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  if  not  all  Union  soldiers  from  Indiana.  Anyone  who  enlisted  in 
the  Union  army  from  Indiana  knew  that  he  would  thereby  incur  the  hos- 
tility of  near  neighbors,  if  not  relatives.  But  the  case  of  Company  G  was 
more  pronounced  than  most  others.* 

This  company  arrived  in  Camp  Morton,  August  12, 1861.  Surgeon 
Johnson  came  as  its  captain.  When,  rather  against  his  wishes,  but  more 
in  the  line  of  his  previous  experiences,  he  was  made  surgeon,  John  R. 

*  It  was  in  this  region  that,  after  the  presidential  election  in  18!l(!,  the  modest  head- 
stones marking  the  graves  of  Union  soldiers  were  daubed  with  red  paint,  as  a  mark  of 
opprobrium. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    IXDIANA.  '  GOB 

Fesler  was  advanced  to  captain,  and  others  accordingly.  That  all  of  the 
commissioned  officers  should  thus  be  Feslers  was  uni(|ue.  The  captain 
and  second  lieutenant  were  brothers,  and  the  first  lieutenant  was  their 
cousin.  No  need  to  say  that  the  positions  came  to  all  of  them  in  an  hon- 
orable way.  True  to  the  army  custom  of  giving  short,  handy  names  to 
everybody,  these  officers  were  known  among  us  as  "  Captain  John  R.," 
"  Lieutenant  Pete  "  and  "  Lieutenant  George."  Later  it  was  "  Colonel 
John  R.,"  "Captain  Pete"  and  "Captain  George."  Whether  on  the 
skirmish  line  alone  or  in  the  battle  front  of  the  regiment,  Company  G 
could  be  relied  upon.  A  large  number  of  its  members  are  well  remem- 
bered by  those  of  other  companies.  Its  enrollment  was  one  hundred  and 
fourteen.  It  lost  fifteen  killed  and  mortally  wounded  in  battle,  and 
eighteen  from  sickness  and  other  causes. 

ORIGINAL  ROSTER  OF  COMPANY  G. 

With  promotions,  wounds  and  manner  of  getting  out  of 
the  company,  and  dates  of  same,  as  far  as  known. 

CAPTAIN. 

JOHN  R.  FESLER,  commissioned  Aug.  80,  1861,  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel  June  12,  1863,  ^vith  regiment  in  every 
battle  or  skirmish  ;   inustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864. 

LIEUTENANTS. 

PETER  FESLER,  commissioned  August  30,  1861,  promoted 
captain  Feb.  13,  1863;  transferred  to  Company  E,  Sev- 
entieth Indiana;   served  till  end  of  war. 

GEORGE  L.  FESLER,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861,  pro- 
moted captain  Company  E,  Oct.  1,  1862. 

SERGEANTS. 

CHARLES  A.  KELSO,  wotmded  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.  ; 
mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1862. 

JAMES  H.  TERHUNE,  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  May  3, 
1863. 

SQUIRE  O.  W.  GARRETT,  promoted  first  sergeant  ;  pro- 
moted second  lieutenant  (^ct.  1,  1862;  first  lieutenant 
Feb.  13,  1863;  resigned  March  2,  1863. 

JOHN  F.  M.  STEWART,  veteran. 

FLETCHER  D.  RUNDELL,  promoted  first  sergeant ;  sec- 
ond lieutenant  Feb.  13,1863;  first  lieutenant  March  3^ 
1863,    mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864. 

CORPORALS. 

SAMUEL  COUGHRAN,  promoted  sergeant ;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 


604  *  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ANDREW  R.  VAN  SICKLE,  promoted  sergeant  and  first 
sergeant;   mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

HIRAM  REYNOLDS,  detached  to  gunboat  service  Febru- 
ary, 1862;   hung  Nashville,  Tenn.,  1864,  for  murder. 

JOHN  P.  FLETCHER,  killed  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 

MOSES  BEAVERS,  died  Frederick,  Md.,  NoV.  20,1862; 
disease. 

BENJAMIN  F.  HENSLEY,  discharged  Feb.  14,  1862  ;  dis- 
ability. 

SAMUEL  W.  FLEENER,died  Darnestown,  Md.,  Sept.  8, 
1861 ;   disease. 

JAMES  M.  FESLER,  promoted  sergeant;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

PRIVATES. 

ARTHUR   B.    DOUGLASS,   musician,   discharged   Oct.    7, 

1862. 
EDWARD  FUGATE,  musician,  mustered  out    Sept.  1,  1864. 
MOSES  FUGATE,  teamster,  discharged  Dec.  18,  1862. 
JOHN  ATKINS,  promoted  corporal;   wounded  Gettysburg; 

transferred  to  V.  R.  C. 
L.  C.  ANTHRUM,  killed  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  8,  1863. 
ALEXANDER  ANDREWS,  captured  at  Winchester;   dis- 
charged ;   loss  of  leg  at  Gettysburg. 
AARON  ALLEN,  wounded  at  New  Hope  Church  ;   veteran. 
ISAAC  BROWN,  veteran. 
JOHN  B.  BAKER,  promoted  corporal;  mustered  out  Sept. 

1,  1864. 
ELISHA  BAILEY,  captured  at  Winchester;   veteran. 
HENRY  C.  BEVAN,  veteran. 
WILLIAM  J.  BLUE,  veteran. 
ELIJAH  BAKER  ;  promoted  corporal ;  wounded  Antietam  ; 

mustered  out  vSept.  1,  1864 
ROBERT  W.  COFFEE,  veteran. 
REUBEN  CAMPBELL,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOHN  H.  CAYWOOD,  veteran. 
ANDREW  J.  CHASE,  discharged  Frederick,  Md.,  Feb.  — , 

1862;  disability. 
ROBERT  S.  DAVIS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
THOMAS  DAVID,  mustered  out  1862. 
D.  T.  DAVID,  killed  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 
JAMES   DAVENPORT,  died   Baltimore,  Md.,  October  — , 

1862. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  605 

ERASMUS  DAVENPORT,  died  Frederick,  Md.,  Dec.  — , 
1864 

ABEL  DEITZ,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

WM.   W.    DOUGHERTY,    promoted    sergeant-major;    pro- 
moted second  lieutenant  Company  H,  Feb.  1868. 

WM.  P.  FUGATE,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

AARON  FLEENER,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville;  mustered 
out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

HENRY  J.  FLEENER,  died  of  disease  ;  place  unknown. 

HENRY   FRY,    taken    prisoner  Winchester,    Va.,   Alay  25, 
1862  ;  died  Richmond,  Va.,  in  prison. 

SAMUEL  O.  FLETCHER,  promoted  corporal ;  veteran. 

JACOB  C.  FISHER,  discharged;  wounds  at  Antietam. 

JACOB  GILMORE,  discharged;  wounds  Chancellorsville. 

WILLIAM  GLADDEN,  died- Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  11,  1862; 
disease. 

MARSHAL  GARDNER,  veteran. 

THOMAS  HILLMAN,   mortally  wounded   at    Chancellors- 
ville.     Date  and  place  of  death  unknown. 

CHARLES  HORNER,  prisoner  at  Winchester;  died  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  Sept.  1,  1864;  disease. 

WILLIAM  J.  HENSLEY,  killed  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.   17, 
1852. 

JOHN  W.  HUTCHINSON,  discharged  ;  disability. 

EMERY  HOWELL,  veteran. 

NOAH  P.  HILLMAN,  veteran. 

JAMES  JACOBS,  wounded  Resaca  ;  mustered  out  Sept.   1, 
1864 

PETER  D.  JACOBS,  veteran. 

JOEL  KEMP,  promoted  corporal  and  sergeant  ;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

GRANVILLE    KEMP,   promoted    corporal  ;    mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

PETER  KEMP,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

GEORGE  W.  KANE,  died  Frederick,  Md.  ;  disease. 

JAMES  P.  KELSO,  wounded  Chancellorsville, 

ROBERT    KUTZLEH,  discharged,    date    not    stated;    dis- 
ability. 

THOMAS  KEPHART,  prisoner  Winchester;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 

GEORGE  KENT,  discharged  for  wounds  at  Gettysburg  ;  date 
not  stated. 


606  HISTORY    OF    THE 

JAINIESJ.  LANE,  wounded  at  Atitietam  :  veteran. 
JOHN   LESTER,    died  Frederick,    Md„  Jan.  — .  1862;  dis- 
ease. 
CHRISTOPHER  MELTON,  discharged,  wounds  at  Gettys- 

burg. 
ROBERT   MELTON,  wounded    Gettysburg;    mustered    out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 
WILLIAM    MATHEWS,    died    Frederick,   Md. ;    date    un- 
known. 
MATHIAS  McCLANE,  discharged  1802  ;  disability. 
JOSEPH  McCLANE,  captured   at   Winchester ;  discharged 

Dec.    10,  1862  ;  disability. 
SHELLY    MARTIN,    deserted    Feb.    10,1-63;  reported  to 

Capt.  Fesler  in  North    Carolina,    1865 ;  mustered  out  in 

1865. 
WILLIAM    H.   OBENCHAIN,  discharged  Feb.   —,1862; 

disabilit}^. 
TIMOTHY  L.  PRATT,  wounded  at  Antietam;  mustered  out 

Sept.  1,  1864 
GEORGE    W.  PROSSER,  lost  leg   at  Atlanta,  discharged ; 

veteran. 
JOHN  F.  PATTERSON,  discharged  1862 ;  disability. 
JOHN  ROBISON,  died   camp    Jo   Holt   Oct.   31,  1861  ;  dis- 
ease. 
CHARLES    ROBISON,  captured    at    Winchester;   died  in 

prison  Richmond,  Va.,  July,  1862. 
ZACHARIAH  ROOD,  veteran. 
PETER  ROONEY,  promoted  corporal  ;  mustered  out   Sept. 

1,1864. 
JAMES  M.  RAGSDALE,  promoted  hospital  steward;  died 

near  Darnestown,  Oct.,  1861 ;  disease. 
JAMES  SCRAGGS,  started  in  March,  1862.  to  return   from 

Bunker  Hill,  Va.,  to  Harpers  Ferry;  never  heard  from; 

believed  to  be  murdered. 
ELIJAH  SMITH,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
E.  F.  STIMSON,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOSEPH  V.  STIMSON.  Gen.  Ruger's  orderly;  wounded  by 

bayonet  thrust  at  Cedar  Mountain,  and  gun-shot  at  Chan- 

cellorsville  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOHN  TOMEY,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
SAMUEL     TOMEY,    prisoner   Winchester;    mustered    out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  GOT 

JOHN  N.  THOMPSON,  veteran  ;  transferred  to  wSeventieth 

and  Thirty-third  Indiana.    ' 
ASA  B.  TERHUNE,  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3, 

1863. 
NATHAN   D.   F.   TERHUNE,   discharged  ;   loss   of   leg  at 

Gettysburg. 
JOHN   D.   WHITTED,   discharged,   Fredrick,    Feb.,    1862; 

disability. 
GEORGE   W.    WRIGHT,   drummed  out   at  Stafford  Court 

House,  Va.,  for  cowardice  at  Antietam. 
J.    M.    WRIGHT,    captured    at    Winchester,   Va.  ;    died    in 

prison,  Richmond,  Va.,  1862. 
WILLIAM   J.    WELLS,    wounded,    Gettysburg;     mustered 

out  Sept!  L  1864. 
SILAS  H.  WELLS,  discharged,  1862;   disability. 
HENRY   C.    WELLENS,    died    of    wounds    at    Antietam; 

date  unknown. 
WILLIAM  WEEKLY,  wounded,  Gettysburg;   veteran. 
JOHN    K.   WHETvSTINE,  killed  in   front  of  Atlanta,  Ga., 

July  25,  1864. 
JOSEPH   E.    W^HITE,  promoted   sergeant-major;   promoted 

second   lieutenant   March    13,   1863 ;   wounded,    Chancel- 
lorsville;  resigned  Nov.  21,  1864. 
GEORGE   WEMER,  captured  at  Winchester;  mustered  out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOHN  M.  YOUNG,  promoted  corporal  ;   mustered  out  vSept. 

1,  1864. 

RECRUITS. 

ROBERT  BARNHILL,  mustered  in  March  8,  1862. 

JOHN  S.  COFFEE,  mustered  in  March  27,  1864. 

GEORGE  PATE,  mustered  in  March  5,  1862  ;  wounded  at 
New  Hope  Church,  Ga.,  1864. 

ADAM  SNAPP,  mustered  in  April  2,  1862. 

MELVIN  SANBORN,  mustered  in  March  19,  1862. 

ANDREW  J.  WEEKLY,  mustered  in  March  27,  1864. 

JAMES  WOOD,  mustered  in  March  15,  1862. 

LYFUS  HOLT,  mustered  in  Aug.  11, 1862  ;  killed  at  Gettys- 
burg, Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 

JEPHTHA  ENGLE,  mustered  in  April  8,  1862;  marked  as 
a  deserter ;   thought  to  be  an  error. 

FRANCIS  BETCHMAN,  mustered  in  April  2,  1862;  killed 
at  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  15,  1864. 


G08  lilSTORY    OF    THE 

ROBERT  McLaughlin,  killed  at  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept. 
17,  1862.  ' 

COMPANY  H. 

The  men  of  this  company,  on  the  face  of  the  records,  did  not  receive 
their  just  dues,  in  several  respects.  Like  some  other  companies,  the 
name  of  the  county  in  a  which  a  part,  but  not  all,  lived,  was  put  down  in 
place  of  the  postoffice  address  of  its  men  —  Jennin,S:^s  county.  Just  as 
though  that  was  what  was  wanved,  or  would  be  of  any  service  after- 
wards! The  writer  has  not  been  able  to  find  where  many  of  the  company 
really  did  belong.  Of  the  three  original  commissioned  officers  of  Com- 
pany H,  one  resigned  inside  of  six  months  and  the  other  two  inside  of  a 
year.  The  records  do  not  show  whether  or  not  this  was  justifiable. 
Among  them  the  blame  concerning  the  postoffice  address  item  doubtless 
rested.  One  other  member  of  the  company  received  a  commission  as 
second  lieutenant,  but  was  dismissed  soon  afterwards,  under  circum- 
stances not  fully  approved  by  disinterested  parties.  After  that,  every 
commissioned  officer  the  company  had  was  appointed  over  it,  not  only 
without  its  consent,  but  from  outside  of  its  own  ranks.  In  other  words,  of 
the  one  hundred  and  eight  enlisted  men  in  the  company,  only  one  was 
rewarded  with  a  commission,  in  the  three  years  of  its  service,  and  that 
one  with  the  result  named.  No  questions  are  here  raised  as  to  the  fitness 
of  those  appomted.  On  its  face,  it  could  not  be  right.  If,  as  reported 
under  breath,  at  the  time,  it  was  the  result  of  pique  and  malice  on  the 
part  of  Colonel  Colgrove,  it  should  not  only  stand  as  a  blot  on  his  record, 
but  the  recurrence  of  a  similar  wrong  should  be  rendered  impossible  in 
the  future.  Some  of  the  statistics  of  Company  H  are  the  following: 
Whole  number  enrolled,  one  hundred  and  fourteen;  killed  and  mortally 
wounded,  twelve;  died  of  disease,  etc.,  sixteen;  prisoners  at  Winchester, 
eleven;  veterans,  nine.  These  figures  do  not  tally  with  Colonel  Fox's, 
but  he  credits  this  company  with  the  loss  of  one  commissioned  officer; 
and,  being  in  error  on  that  point,  raises  the  presumption  that  he  may  be 
on  others. 

ORIGINAL  ROSTER  OF  COMPANY  H. 

CAPTAINS. 

ALLEN  HILL,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861 ;  resigned  June 
16,  1862. 

JOHN  McKAHIN,  promoted  from  second  lieutenant  Com- 
pany F,   Oct.  1,  1862;  resigned  March  14,  1863. 

JOSEPH  BALSLEY,  enlisted  as  private  in  Company  D, 
Aug.  15,  1861 ;  promoted  sergeant  Sept.,  1861  ;  orderly  ser- 
geant Jan.,  1862,  and  to  second  lieutenant  June  2,  1862; 
commanded  Company  D,  Aug.  9  to  Sept.  17,  1862,  and 
July  4  to  Oct.    11,  1863;   promoted  captain  Company  H^ 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  609 

Dec.  11,   1863;   wounded   at   Antietam   and  Gettysburg; 
mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1861. 

FIRST    LIEUTENANTS. 

JAMES  D.  HUDSON,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  1861 ;  resigned 
June  24,  1862. 

WILLIAM  W.  DOUGHERTY,  promoted  from  sergeant- 
major  Jan.  1,  1863;  promoted  adjutant  March  1,  18(^)3. 

STEPHEN  D.  LYON,  promoted  from  civil  life,  February 
28,  1863;  was  with  the  regiment  as  civilian  drill  master; 
taken  prisoner  at  Winchester;  honorably  discharged  Oct. 
20,  1863;  wounded  at  Chancellorsville. 

SECOND    LIEUTENANTS. 

THOMAS  STEWART,  commissioned  Aug.  30.  1861  ;  re- 
signed Feb.  10,  1862. 

THOMAS  NUGENT,  transferred  from  Company  D  ;  commis- 
sioned second  lieutenant  Oct.  11,  1862  ;  discharged  Oct. 
20,  1863;  loss  of  leg  at  Gettysburg. 

SERGEANTS. 

NEHEMIAH  WALTON,  promoted  second   lieutenant  Feb. 

10,  1862  ;  dismissed,  Oct.   10,  1862  ;    justice  of  dismissal 

questionable. 
GEORGE   W.  BRADSHAW,  promoted   first  sergeant  Feb., 

1862;  discharged  June  21,   1862;  disability. 
GEORGE  W.  BATCHELOR,  promoted  second  sergeant  Feb., 

1862;  taken  prisoner  Winchester;  killed  Gettysburg,  Pa., 

July  3,  1863. 
JOHN  H.  MATNEY,  transferred  to  United  States  Marines 

Jan.,  1862. 
JAMES  W.  REED,  taken  to  hospital  Frederick,  Md.,  1862; 

never  returned  to  regiment;   mustered  out  S:pt.  1,  1864. 

CORPORALS. 

VOLNEY  WALTON,  in  Color  Guard  ;  wounded  Antietam  ; 

veteran. 
ALONZO  OLMSTEAD,  wounded  Antietam;  veteran. 
THOMAS    H.    ADAMS,    promoted    sergeant    June,    1862; 

transferred  V.  R.  C.  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOSEPH  ROSEBERY,  discharged  June,  1862;  disability. 


610  HISTORY    OF    THE 

MATHIAS  TERWILEGAR,  regimental  blacksmith  ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

GEORGE  W.  COONS,  promoted  sergeant  July,  1863;  vet- 
eran. 

NEWTON  H.  FITZGERALD,  promoted  first  sergeant  June, 
1862  ;  wounded  and  captured  at  Cedar  Mountain  ;  died  at 
Fortress  Monroe  after  release. 

WILLIAM  CUNLIFF,  promoted  first  sergeant  Nov.,  1862; 
wounded  in  head  Lost  Mountain,  Ga.,  June  5,  1864; 
mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

PRIVATES. 

JOHN  M.  CONGDON,  fifer;  went  into  ranks;  took  transfer 

to  regulars  Jan.,  1863. 
GEORGE   W.   EARHART,  drummer;   discharged  Jan.    10, 

1862;  disability. 
ROBERT  BRAND,  wagoner;  captured  at  Winchester;   dis- 
charged Nov.,  1862,  disability. 
WILLIAM  R.  ADAMS,  died  Alexandria,  Va..  Jan.,  1832; 

nostalgia. 
ALBERT  E.  AMMONS,   mortally  wounded,  grape  shot  in 

head,  New  Hope  Church,  Ga.,  May  25,  1864. 
ZODA    BUTLER,   promoted  corporal   Color  Guard  ;    severe 

wound  Gettysburg;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
GREEN   BIAS,  died  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  11,    1862;   pneu- 
monia. 
ADAM  BIAS,  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  Winchester  May 

25,  1862;    wounded    Gettysburg;   veteran. 
JONATHAN  BAKER,  promoted  corporal;  wounded  Antie- 

tam  ;   took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.,  1862. 
ABRAHAM  BAKER,  discharged  May,  1862;  disability. 
JOHN   BEADLE,  discharged,    date   unkn-jwn  ;   wounds  An- 

tictam. 
LUTHER  BEADLE,  killed  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
GEORGE     W.     BEASLEY,     discharged    date     unknown; 

wounds  Antietam. 
ALLEN  BRYANT,  wounded  Resaca,  severe;  veteran. 
DANIEL  W.  BAILIFF,   absent   from   regiment  after   1862; 

mustered  out  September  1,  18(>4. 
HENRY      BRATHOUSE,     discharged;      date     unknown; 

wounds  Antietam. 


TWENTV-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  611 

CALVIN  BROOKS,  died  at  Winchester,  Va.,  March,  1862; 

fever. 
ADAM  BROWER,  promoted  corporal;  prisoner  Winchester; 

wounded    New    Hope    Church;    mustered    out    Sept.    12, 

18G4. 
JOHN    M.    BROWER,   prisoner  at   Winchester;    died  Fort 

Dehxware  Oct.  22,  1802,  effects  prison  life. 
PHILIP    COX,   wounded  Cedar    Mountain   and  New   Hope 

Church  ;  through  head  and  through  leg;  veteran. 
WILLIAM   H.   CHAMBERS,   died  Alexandria,   Va.,   April 

25,  1864;  disease. 
JOHN  COMBS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOSHUA  DEPUTY,  wounded  badly  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  15, 

1864;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
HARVEY  DEPUTY,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
THOMAS  R.  DEPUTY,  injured  Culpeper,  Va.,  July,  1862; 

discharged  Nov.,  1862,  disability. 
ZACHARIAH  DEPUTY,  sent  to  hospital  July,  1862;  never 

returned  to  regiment ;  mustered  out  vSept.  1,  1864. 
JOSEPH    B.   DEPUTY,  discharged    1862,   place  and    exact 

date  unknown  ;  disability. 
WILLIAM  DEPUTY,  killed  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
FRANCIS   DOOLEY,  wounded  Cedar  Mountain   and   Get- 
tysburg;  transferred  V.  R.  C. 
JOSEPH  DINGMAN,  discharged  for  cowardice,  Feb.,  1863. 
ROBERT  DIXON,  discharged  Feb.  1,  1862;  disability. 
HENRY  DEPUTY,  died,   Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.    12,    1862; 

consumption. 
TIMOTHY  M.  DOLAN,  discharged  Feb.  1,  1862;  disability. 
CLEMENT  DUNLAP,  discharged  Dec,  1862;  disability. 
AUSTIN  DUNLAP,  wounded,  Antietam  ;  discharged  1863, 

date  unknown  ;  disability. 
THOMAS  DORCETT,  wounded,  Antietam  and   New  Hope 

Church  ;  mustered  out  Sept.   12,  1864. 
JOHN    L.   FILEwS,  promoted    corporal  and    sergeant ;   Color 

Sergeant  of   regiment  ;  wounded.    Gettysburg;    mustered 

out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
WILLIAM  FRANCIS,  wounded  at   Cedar   Mountain  ;  took 

transfer  to  regulars  Oct.,  1862. 
HENRY  A.   FARRIS,  promoted    sergeant    1863;    veteran; 

taken  prisoner  after  transfer  from  Twenty-seventh. 


612  HISTORY    OF    THE 

WILLIAM  H.  FARTHING,  died,  Washington,  D.  C  ,  May 
10,  1803  ;  wounds  at  Chancellorsville. 

JOSHUA  L.  FOSTER,  wounded  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1, 1864. 

JAMES  M.  FOWLER,  wounded,  Cliancellorsville  ;  mustered 
out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

REUBEN  HOLBROOK,  prisoner,  Winchester,  Va.  ;  vet- 
eran. 

THOMAS  HUNT,  wounded,  Resaca  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1, 
1864. 

HARVEY  B.  HILL,  killed  Dec.  7,  1861,  accident  on  rail- 
road. 

THOMPSON  HUDSON,  discharged  Jan.  10,  1862;  dis- 
ability. 

MARTIN  F.  HALL,  captured,  Winchester;  died,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  Nov.  21,1862;  prison  life. 

FRANCIS  M.  JAMES,  wounded,  Resaca,  severe  ;  mustered 
out  Sept.  12,  1864. 

EMANUEL  C.  JAMES,  discharged  1863;  wounds  at 
Antietam. 

OREN  J.  JAYNE,  died,  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  22,  1862;  con- 
sumption. 

HORACE  JUDKINS,  discharged  1862;  disability. 

ANDREW  JONES,  prisoner  Winchester  ;  wounded  Gettys- 
burg ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

LEWIS  KING,  wounded,  Gettysburg;  mustered  out  Sept.  1, 
1864. 

SAMUEL  S.  LEMMING,  killed,  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17, 
1864. 

JOHN  E.  LETT,  wounded,  Gettysburg;  mustered  out  Sept, 
1,  1864. 

THOMAS  J.  LETT,  killed,  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 

ENOCH  LAYTON,  discharged,  date  unknown  ;  wounds  at 
Antietam. 

WESLEY  A.  MALCOLM,  discharged  May,  1862;  dis- 
ability. 

RICHARD  MUSTER,  killed  in  railroad  disaster  near  Pitts- 
burg, Pa.  ;   date  not  reported. 

WILLIAM  MUSTER,  promoted  corporal;  wounded  at  An- 
tietam ;   veteran. 

JOHN  MUSTER,  wounded,  Gettysburg;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,  1864. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  613 

JOHN   M.   McCONNEL,   prisoner,   Winchester;     mustered 

out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
HENRY  McCASLIN,  killed  by  comrade,  through  mistake, 

at  Conrod's  Ferry,  Md.,  Oct.  24,  1861. 
HIRAM  W.   MARLING,    promoted    corporal   July,    1863; 

mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864-. 
ROBERT   McCLANNAHAN,    killed    at    Chancellorsville, 

Va.,  May  3,  1863. 
PATRICK   MURPHY,  wounded   and  prisoner  at  Winches- 
ter;   died  in  prison,  Lynchburg,  Va.  ;   date  not   reported. 
FRANCIS  M.   NEEDHAM,   wounded,   ;    mustered 

out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
GRIFFITH    OGDEN,  wounded  at  Winchester ;   discharged 

Jan.  3,  1863,  wounds  at  Antietam. 
DENNIS  W.  OGDEN,  discharged  for  wounds  at  Antietam  ; 

date  unknown. 
JAMES   M.  RICHARDS,  wounded   and   prisoner  at   Win- 
chester;    wounded    in    front    of  Atlanta;    mustered   out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 
OLIVER   SHEPHERD,    promoted   corporal   and  sergeant: 

wounded   at  Antietam   and   Gettysburg;    transferred  to 

V.  R.  C. ;   date  unknown. 
WILLIAM  STATTEN,   killed  at   Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga., 

July  20,  1864. 
GRIFFIN  STRADLEY,  veteran. 
SAMUEL  H.  STEEL,  wounded,  Antietam  ;  mustered  out  for 

wound;  date  unknown. 
PARKER   TRUELOCK,   died,   Winchester,  Va.,  April   18, 

1862;   fever. 
JAMES  M.  TOWN,  discharged,  1862;  disability. 
JOSIAH    W,  TOBIAS,  wounded,  Antietam  ;   mustered   out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 
JAMES   TODD,   wounded,    Chancellorsville;   mustered    out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 
WILLIAM  T.  TEMPLES,  teamster;  mustered  out  Sept.  1, 

1864. 
JOHN  TAPP,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JAMES  WOOD,  promoted  corporal  and  sergeant  ;   good  sol- 
dier  at    first;   mixed   with    woman    and    deserted,  Tulla- 

homa,  Tenn.,  April  15,  1864. 
JOHN    W.    WALTON,    prisoner    at    Winchester;    died    in 

prison,  Lynchburg,  Va.,  July,  1862. 


G14  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ALVA  WALTON,  discharged,  May,  1862;  disease. 
ELISHA  M.  WHITSETT,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
NICHOLAS  WARNER,   wounded,  Chancellorsville  ;   mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

RECRUITS. 

Those  living  transferred  to  Seventieth  Ind.,  Nov.  4,  1864. 

HARLAN  ANDERSON,  mustered  in  Aug.  11,  1862; 
wounded  Gettysburg. 

JAMES  R.  BALDWIN,  mustered  in  Aug.  11,  1862;  wound- 
ed at  Gettysburg;  died  Jeffersonville,  Ind.,  Oct.  11, 
1864. 

PERRY  BOOHER,  mustered  in  March  14,  1862;  wounded 
Antietarn, 

WILLIAM  F.  COX,  mustered  in  March  31,  1862. 

FRANKLIN  GARSAGE,  mustered  in  Aug.  11,  1862; 
wounded  Gettysburg. 

JAMES  BOOHER,  mustered  in  Jan.  12,  1862;  killed  Chan- 
cellorsville, Va.,  May  8,  1863. 

JOHN  MEEK,  mustered  in  March  81,  1862;  mortally 
wounded  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  15,  1864. 

JAMES  EDWARDS,  mustered  in  Aug.  11,  1862;  hurt  Oct. 
11,  1862;  mustered  out  non-compos. 

GRANVILLE  HOLT,  died  Maryland  Hights,  1868;  dis- 
ease. 

COMPANY  1. 

This  company  had  its  origin  in  a  voluntary  organization,  "  The  Put- 
nam County  Grays,"  formed  at  Putnamville  in  May,  1861.  After  the 
Union  reverse  at  Bull  Run  the  Grays  voted  to  enter  the  United  States 
service.  But  the  company  was  already  too  small  and  a  few  connected 
with  it  could  not  go  to  war.  Therefore,  new  members  were  added  and  the 
company  re-organized.  The  same  commissioned  officers  were  re-elected. 
Comp  any  I  also  hailed  from  "  a  border  state."  If  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy did  not  dominate  some  of  the  country  close  to  Putnamville,  the 
spirit  of  it  did.  The  writer  knows  of  two  villages  in  that  section  of  Indiana 
where  the  defenseless  wives  and  daughters  of  Union  soldiers  were  not  only 
ostracised  from  society  and  treated  to  sneers  and  insults  when  they  appear- 
ed in  public,  but  were  sent  theatening  anonymous  letters.  The  wearing  of 
butternuts  for  breastpins  (because  the  uniforms  of  rebel  soldiers  were  a 
butternut  color)  and  cheering  for  Jeff  Davis  and  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy, were  too  common  to  be  noteworthy. 

Company  I   was  a  badly  mixed,  oddly  assorted  lot  of  patriots.     Not 
only  big  men  and  little,  old  and  young,  native  and  foreign  were  in  the 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  G15- 

company,  but  the  cultured  language  of  the  student  was  intermingled 
with  the  drawling  dialect  of  the  backwoods  Hoosier  and  the  neat  and  tidy 
uniforms  of  some  contrasted  with  the  soiled  garments  of  others,  the  grease 
spots  upon  which  resembled  a  map  of  one  of  the  hemispheres.  Most  of 
the  men  were  cheerful  and  happy,  while  others  were  continually  grumb- 
ling and  finding  fault.  In  some  of  the  tents  a  noisy  contention,  verging 
on  a  riot,  was  usually  in  progress. 

But  Company  I  was  there  to  stay.  If  Fox's  Regimental  Losses  can 
be  relied  upon  no  other  company  from  Indiana  has  a  relative  battle  loss 
equal  to  our  Company  1.  The  highest  loss  in  any  one  Indiana  comjjany 
reported  by  Fox  is  that  of  Company  B,  Nineteenth  Indiana.  He  credits 
that  company  with  a  loss  of  twenty-five  out  of  an  enrollment  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteen.  Our  Company  I  lost  twenty-five  out  of  an  enrollment 
of  one  hundred  and  five.  It  is  true  that  Fox  does  not  give  it  credit  for 
such  a  loss;  but  there  can  be  no  mistake  about  it  having  it.  The  company 
also  lost  ten  by  disease. 

ORIGINAL  ROSTER  OF  COMPANY  I. 

Showing  promotions,  wounds  and  manner  of  leaving  the 
company  with  dates  of  same  as  far  as  known. 

CAPTAINS. 

JOEL  W.  McGREW,  commissioned  Aug.  80,  18G1  ;  resigned 
Dec.  1,  186L 

TIGHLMAN  H.  NANCE,  elected  from  first  sergeant  ;  com- 
missioned Dec.  — ,  1861  ;  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain  ; 
resigned  Feb.  18,  1868. 

WILLIAM  H.  HOLLOWAY,  commissioned  Feb.  14,  1^68; 
resigned  Oct.  4,  1864. 

FIRST    LIEUTENANTS. 

GEORGE  WHITFIELD  REED,  commissioned  Aug.  80, 
1861;  killed  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.,  Aug.  9,  186:?. 

WILLIAM  H.  HOLLOWAY,  promoted  from  first  sergeant, 
Oct.  1,  1862;  promoted  captain. 

GEORGE  T.  CHAPIN,  commissioned  Feb.  14,  1868; 
wounded  at  Antietam  ;  mortally  wounded  at  Resaca  May 
15,  1S65;  died  at  Nasliville,  Tenn.,  date  not   stated. 

SECOND    I.IEUTENANTS. 

JOSIAH  C.  WILLIAMS,  commissioned  Aug.  80,  1861  :  pro- 
moted captain  Company  C. 

GEORGE  T.  CHAPIN,  promoted  from  first  sergeant  :  com 
missioned  Jan.  1,  1868;  promoted  first  lieutenant. 


616  HISTORY    OF    THE 

JOHN  K,  McCASKY,  promoted  from  sergeant-major  of 
regiment ;  commissioned  Feb.  14,  1863  ;  discharged  May 
20,  1864;  wounds  at  Gettysburg. 

SERGEANTS. 

TIGHLMAN  H.  NANCE,  first  sergeant,   promoted  captain 

by  election  Dec.  — ,  1861. 
GEORGE  T.   CHAPIN,  second  sergeant,    promoted  second 

lieutenant. 
JOSEPH  B.  SELLERS, third  sergeant  wounded  at  New  Hope 

Church  ;  leg  amputated  and  musiered  out. 
LEE  H.  ALLEE,  fourth    sergeant,  promoted  third   sergeant 

March  28,  1862  ;  first  sergeant  March  28,  1863 ;  wounded 

New  Hope  Church  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOSEPH    GILMORE,  fifth   sergeant,  killed   at  Gettysburg, 

Pa.,  Julys,  1868. 

CORPORALS. 

ROBERT  GOOD,  first  corporal,  killed  at  Antietam,  Md., 
Sept.  17,  1862. 

ISAAC  HADDEN,  second  corporal,  discharged  Nov.  25, 
1862  ;   wounds  at  Antietam. 

JAMES  STEERS,  third  corporal,  wounded  at  Chancellors- 
ville  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JAMES  F.  NOSLER,  fourth  corporal,  promoted  sergeant 
March  28,  1862  ;  took  transfer  to  regulars  Nov.  6,  1862  ; 
wounded  at  Antietam. 

WILLIAM  H.  HOLLOWAY,  fifth  corporal,  promoted  to 
first  sergeant  Jan.  1,  1862;  second  lieutenant  Nov.  14, 
1862. 

JOHN  B.  CLAPSADDLE,  sixth  corporal,  wounded  at  Antie- 
tam ;  mustered  out  with  regiment. 

ABRi\HAM  HADDEN,  seventh  corporal,  discharged,  Phil- 
adelphia, Pa.,  March  2,  1862;  disability. 

SAMUEL  TURNER,  eighth  corporal,  took  transfer  to  regu- 
lars Oct.  28,  1862. 

MUSICIANS. 

SAMUEL  P.  McCORMiCK,  fifer,  discharged  June  2,  1862  ; 
disability. 

JOHN  A.  CONKLIN,  drummer,  went  into  ranks  ;  took  trans- 
fer to  regulars  Oct.  28,  J  862. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  617 

WAGONER. 

TIGHLMAN  A.  WRIGHT,  mustered  out  vSeptember  1, 
1864. 

PRIVATES. 

JOHN  Q_.  ADAMS,  wounded  Antietam  ;  discharged  Feb.  7, 
1864;  disability. 

CYRUS  ALEXANDER,  died  at  Maryland  Hights,  Oct.  22, 
1862;   disease. 

WILLIAM  K.  ALEXANDER,  discharged;  disability  ;  date 
unknown. 

HAMILTON  H.  ASHER,  mortally  wounded  at  Resaca  ;  died 
June  14,  1864,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

ISAAC  ADAMS,  discharged  Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  8,  1863; 
disability. 

MICHAEL  BECK,  promoted  corporal ;  wounded  at  New 
Hope  Church  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

DANIEL  BECK,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  P.  BEARD,  promoted  third  corporal  and  second  ser- 
geant ;  mortally  wounded  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3, 
1863. 

SAMUEL  M.  BUTCHER,  discharged  Dec.  15,  1861 ;  disa- 
bility. 

CHARLES  BROWN,  known  as  Old  Junk,  discharged  April 
15,  1863;  disability. 

LORENZO  D.  CRAWLEY,  discharged  1862  ;  date  and  cause 
not  reported. 

WILLIAM  J.  CULBERTSON,  deserted  Nov.  11,  1861. 

ISRAEL  G.  COWGIL,  discharged  Jan.  29,  1863;  dis- 
ability. 

EDWARD  W.  CLARK,  took  transfer  to  regulars  Oct.  28, 
1862. 

ANSON  H.   CLARK,  discharged  Nov.  18,  1863;  disability. 

THOMAS  DEVERAUX,  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Va., 
Aug.  9,  1862. 

LEWIS  W.  DREUHR,  discharged  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  Dec. 
6,  1862,  for  wounds  at  Antietam. 

THOMAS  J.  DODSON,  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May 
3,  1863. 

WILLIAM  L.  DOUGLASS,  wounded,  Antietam  ;  died  at 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Feb.  27,  1863. 


618  HISTORY    OK    THE 

WILLIAM    DELAHUNT,    mortally    wounded,    Antietam, 

Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
ELIJAH  C.  DAVIS,  transferred  to  navy,  Jan.,  1862. 
HENRY    EAKIN,    wounded    at    Antietam  ;     mustered    out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 
FRANCIS    M.    FROGGET,    discharged    March    12,   1863; 

disability. 
WILLIAM  B.    FERGUSON,  promoted  corporal;   mustered 

out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
GEORGE  W.  FRAZIER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOHN  L.  GILMORE,  wounded  at  Antietam;  mustered  out 

Sept.  1,  1864. 
JAMES  A.    GRIMES,   died,   Strasburg,  Va.,  May  22,  1862 ; 

disease. 
JOHN   C.    HADDEN,  discharged  Dec.  80,  1862;  disability 
JOHN  C.  HEATH,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C,  date  and  cause 

not  reported  ;   returned  to  regiment ;   mustered  out   Sept. 

1,  1864. 
JOHN  HIXON,  wounded,  Gettysburg;   transferred  to  V.  R. 

C,  date  not  reported. 
JOHN  HOWARD,    wounded   at  Chancellorsville ;   veteran. 
IRA    HUNT,   wounded   at   Antietam  ;   mortally  wounded  at 

Gettysburg,   Pa.  ;   died  Aug.  13,  1868. 
JOHN  HUSSEY,  died  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  22,  1862; 

disease. 
JAMES  M.  HALL,   discharged   Dec.    17,    1862;  wounds  at 

Antietam. 
WILLIAM  R.   HALE,  veteran. 
MARION  HARRIS,   died   Darnestown,  Md.,  Dec.  L  1861; 

disease. 
LEE  HAZLEWOOD,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  veteran. 
JOHN    W.    HESTER,    discharged,  Baltimore,  Md.,  June  4, 

1862;    disability. 
CHARLES  W.  KENDALL,  took   transfer   to  regulars  Oct. 

28,  1862. 
AMOS    KERSEY,    captured    at    Winchester;    mustered    out 

vSept.  1,  1864. 
GABRIEL  C.  LEWIS,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
CHARLES  H.  LEWIS,  killed.  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.,  Aug. 

9,  1862. 
GEORGE  LAWRENCE,  wounded  Antietam,  veteran. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  619 

WALTER  LOGAN,   died,  Berryville,  Va.,  April    1,    1802; 

measles. 
REUBEN    LUCAS,  wounded,  Cedar  Mountain,  Gettysburg 

and  New  Hope  Church  ;   mustered  out  Sept.  J,  1SG4. 
WILLIAM   H.  MICHAEL,  discharged,  Williamsport,  Md., 

June  29,  1862  ;  cause  not  stated. 
GEORGE  D.  MARTIN,  killed.  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.,  Aug. 

9,  1862. 
JOHN  M.  MARTIN,  killed.  Cedar   Mountain,  Va.,  Aug.  9, 

1862. 
JOHN   S.  McMAINS,   mortally  wounded,  Chancellorsville  ; 

died  May  20,  1868. 
THOMAS  MORGAN,  deserted  July  2,  1868. 
GEORGE  MORGAN,  discharged,  Hagerstown,  Md.,  June 

30,  1862;  disability. 
MICHAEL  McKINNEY,  veteran. 

THADDEUS  M.  NANCE,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  veteran. 
AMOS  NICHOLSON,  deserted  April  18,  1862. 
REUBEN  NEWMAN,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Chancel- 
lorsville ;   veteran. 
CARMAN  A.  NEWMAN,  killed,  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17, 

1862;  jugular  vein  severed. 
WILLIAM  H.  O'NEAL,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
SAMUEL  OLIVER,  transferred  V.  R.  C. 
WARREN  PERRY,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  mustered 

out  Sept.  17,  1864. 
MARVIN  PERRY,  took  transfer  to  regulars,  Oct.  28,  1832. 
JAMES  PARSONS,  veteran. 
JOHN    W.    PATRICK,    mortally    wounded    at    New   Hope 

Church;  died  July  8,  1864. 
SAMUEL   PICKENS,   died,   Jeffersonville,    Ind.,    July  22, 

1864;   disease. 
DANIEL  RILEY,  discharged  Dec.  28,  1862;   disability. 
EZRA  K.  SWARTZ,  discharged  Nov.  27,  1862;   disability. 
GEORGE  B.  SMITH,  deserted  April  10,  1862. 
JOSEPH     W.    SMITH,    wounded    at     Antietam;   killed    at 

Chancdlorsville,  Va.,  May  3,  1868. 
WILLIAM  H.  STORMS,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  discharged 

Feb.  28,  1868,  disability. 
AARON  S.   vSTEWART,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOHN  SCOTT,  wounded  Antietam;  veteran. 


G20  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ABRAHAM  A.   SWARTZ,    killed    Cedar    Mountain,  Va., 

Aug.  9,  1862. 
LEWIS  P.  STONE,  promoted  sergeant ;   veteran. 
JAMES   STEVENS,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C. 
MARTIN   C.  TUGGALL,  promoted   corporal  and  sergeant ; 

inustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
DAVID  W.  TUGGALL,  killed  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.,  Aug. 

9,  1862. 
HENRY  B.  THOMAS,   died    Maryland   Heights    Sept.  28, 

1862,  disease. 
JACOB  VARNER,  took  transfer  to   regulars  Oct.  28,  1862. 
DAVID  WILSON,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  took   transfer  to 

regulars  Dec.  5,  1862. 
JESSE  YOUNGER.     Not  accounted  for. 

RECRUITS. 

JAMES  B.  BRADSHAW,  killed  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga., 
July  20,  1864. 

THOMAS  C.  FAITH,  mustered  in  Sept.  10,  1862. 

ROBERT  W.  FAITH,  mustered  in  Aug.  21,  1862;  mortally 
wounded  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862;  declined  the 
offer  of  his  brother  to  assist  him  off  of  the  field ;  urged 
him  rather  to  remain  in  the  ranks,  where  he  was  needed. 

MANFORD  KUTCH,  mustered  in  Aug.  21,  1862;  killed  at 
New  Hope  Church,  Ga.,  May  25, 1864 ;  body  found  near- 
est rebel  works  of  any  Union   soldier. 

ALFRED  A.  KECK,  mustered  in  Sept.  1,  1862;  wounded 
Antietam  ;  transferred  to  Seventh   Indiana. 

DAVID  B.  McDonald,  mustered  in  Aug.  15,  1862  ;  killed 
Chancellorsville,  Va.  ,May  3,  1862. 


COMPANY  K. 

This  was  another  company  first  organized  as  a  home  guard  company. 
In  August,  1861,  it  voted  to  enter  the  United  States  service,  and  immedi- 
ately went  into  camp  at  Jasper — "Camp  Edmonston."  The  county 
auditor  and  recorder  both  abandoned  their  offices  to  continue  with  the 
company.  Here  the  ladies  of  Jasper  presented  the  company  with  the  flag, 
mentioned  elsewhere.  There  was  no  mistake  made  when  the  country's 
sacred  emblem  was  committed  to  such  hands.  The  fact  that  Company 
K  was  mostly  composed  of  Germans  has  also  been  stated  in  other  con- 
nections.    Though  they  differed  thus  from  most  of  the  men  of  the  other 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  621 

companies,  they  were  always  favorites  in  the  regiment.  There  was  never 
a  doubt  about  their  courage.  In  addition  to  this,  they  were  cheerful,  good 
humored  and  full  of  fun.-  Colonel  Fox  credits  Company  K  wiih  the 
largest  relative  battle  loss  of  any  company  in  the  Twenty-seventh — twenty 
out  of  an  enrollment  of  one  hundred  and  four.  Later  investigation  shows 
that  Company  I  exceeds  this.  But  Company  K  stands  next  to  Company 
I  in  the  Twenty-seventh,  and  not  far  behind  any  company  from  the  state. 
This  company  also  lost  ten  by  disease,  and  is  credited  with  fifty-six 
wounded,  in  addition  to  those  that  were  mortal.  Ten  members  of  Com- 
pany K  re-enlisted  as  veterans. 

ORIGINAL    ROSTER  COMPANY   K. 

With   promotions,   wounds   and    manner  of    leaving   the 
company,  and  dates  of  same,  as  far  as  known. 

CAPTAINS. 

JOHN  MEHRINGER,  promoted  to  major  before  commis- 
sioned. 

RICHMOND  M.  WELLMAN,  commissioned  Aug.  30, 1861 ; 
wounded  at  Winchester ;  resigned  Sept.  30,  1862. 

LIEUTENANTS. 

STEPHEN  JERGER,  commissioned  Aug.  80,  1801;  pro- 
moted captain  Oct.  1,  1862;  lost  leg  at  Chancellorsville  ; 
discharged  Aug.  9,    1863. 

ARTHUR  BERRY,  commissioned  Aug.  30,  ISGl  ;  resigned 
Dec.  — ,  1861. 

SERGEANTS. 

JOSEPH  MEHRINGER,  died  Jan.  — ,  1862;  disease;  place 

not  reported. 
JOHN    HABERLE,    promoted    second    lieutenant,   Jan.    1, 

1862;    first    lieutenant,    Oct.   1,    1862;    captain,  Jan.    1, 

1864;    wounded    at    Gettysburg ;  mustered    out    Nov.    4, 

1864. 
GEORGE   MEHRINGER,     wounded     at   Chancellorsville; 

mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
JOHN  B.  MELCHOIR,  discharged  April  21,  1863;  wounds 

at  Cedar  Mountain. 
THOMAS  KNOX,  discharged  Dec.   —,  1862  ;  disability. 


*  A  member  of  Coiiipany  K  adds:  "They  were  good  skirmishers  also;  especially  for 
hen  roosts,  potato  patches  and  otlier  enemies  of  the  country. " 


G22  IIISTOIIY    OK    THE 

CORPORALS. 

FREDERICK  VOGEL,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.    1,  1864. 

ANDREW  STEIGEL.  Color  Guard;  promoted  sergeant; 
wounded  at  Gettysburg  and  Resaca,  mustered  out  Sept. 
1,  18G4. 

FERDINAND  GRASS,  discharged  Oct.  14,  1802;  disability. 

DAVID  BERGER,  ivounded  at  Antietam  ;  mustered  out 
Sept.  1,   1864. 

JAMES  C.  THOMAS,  wounded  at  Gettysburg  and  New 
Hope  Church;  mustered  out  vSept.   1,  1864. 

FREDERICK  GITTER,  promoted  sergeant;   veteran. 

GREGORY  HALI^ER,  killed  at  Antietam,  Sept.   17,  1862. 

F.  X.  SERMERSHEIM,  promoted  sergeant;  wounded  at 
Antietam  and  Gettysburg;  veteran. 

PRIVATES. 

RHEINHART  RICH,  fifer  ;   veteran. 

CONRAD  ECKERT,  drummer;  went  into  ranks;  promoted 

corporal ;   discharged  Oct.   6,  1802,  for   wound    at    Cedar 

Mountain. 
WILLIAM  SUDDETH,  wagoner;  died  June  9,    1862;  dis- 
ease ;  place  of  death  not  reported. 
JOHN     ACKERMAN,    wounded    at     Chancellorsville    and 

New  Hope  Church  ;   veteran. 
ANTON    BROCHART,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  ;  date  and 

cause  not  reported. 
CONRAD   BECK,  wounded   at   Chancellorsville ;    mustered 

out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
DAVID   BRADLEY,   died;    Chattanooga,  Tenn.  ;  June   20, 

1864;  disease. 
JOSEPH  BERGER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 
COLE  BURTON,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1804. 
JAMES  BURTON,  veteran. 
BERNARD  H.  CASTEINS,  transferred  to  gunboat  service 

Feb.  18,  1862. 
JAMES  CAVE,  discharged  Jan.,  1862,  disability. 
JAMES  A.  COOPER,  died  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  22,  1862, 

disease. 
BARNEY  CULLEN,  killed  by  a  shell  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  15, 

1864. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  G23 

EDWARD  DUFFEY,  wounded  Antietam  ;  veteran. 

JAMES  DUFFEY,  mortally  wounded  at  Antietam,  Sept.  17, 
1862;  date  and  place  of  death  not  reported. 

JOHN  DONNELLY,  killed  at  Nev/  Hope  Church,  Ga., 
May  25,  1864. 

XAVIER  DONHAUER,  mortally  wounded  at  Chancellors- 
\ille,  Va.,  May  8,  18G3  ;  date  and  place  of  death  not  re- 
ported. 

JAMES  DILLON,  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Va.,  May  20, 
1864. 

AUGUST  DONNERMANN,  promoted  corporal  in  1868; 
wounded  at  Peach  Tree  Creek;  veteran. 

FREDERICK  DORN,  discharged  Sept.  24,  1862;  cause  not 
reported. 

CELESTINE  ECKERT,  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain  and 
siege  of  Atlanta;  veteran. 

THOMAS  EVANS,  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  transferred  to 
V.  R.  C.  ;  date  and  cause  not  reported. 

JOSEPH  EVANS,  mortally  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  died  at 
Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  22.,  1863. 

EDWARD  EVANS,  wounded  at  Gettysburg  and  Resaca  ; 
mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  FUHRMANN,  lost  a  leg  at  Chancellorsville  ;  dis- 
charged Sept.  16,  1863. 

RUDOLPH  GRIM,  reported  a  deserter  after  Banks'  retreat. 
May  25,  1862. 

JACOB  GARDNER,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 

JOHN  E.  GARDNER,  discharged  for  wound  at  Antietam  ; 
date  not  reported. 

PAUL  GEPPNER,  wounded  at  New  Hope  Church  ;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

FRIEDOLIN  HAGE,  discharged  Sept.  1,  1862,  for  wound 
at  Winchester. 

LEONARD  HALLER,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  15,  1864. 

BERNARD  HOCK,  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.,  Aug.  9, 
1862. 

H.  K.  HENDRICKS,  prisoner  at  Winchester;  never  re- 
turned. 

WILLIAM  HARBISON,  wounded  at  Antietam  ;  discharged 
for  loss  of  arm  at  Chancellorsville;  date  not  stated. 


624  HISTORY    OF    THE 

FRAZIER  J.  HOFFER,  promoted  to  second  lieutenant  Oct. 
1,  1862;  killed  at  Chancellorsville  May  3,  1868. 

ABEDNEGO  TRUMAN,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  8, 
1863. 

BENJAMIN  F.  KEMP,  wounded  at  Gettysburg  and  New 
Hope  Church;  veteran. 

JAMES  H.  KEMP,  killed  at  Chancellorsville  May  8,  1868. 

WESLEY  KEMP,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C,  date  and  cause 
not  reported. 

DAVID  B.  KEMP,  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  veteran. 

WILLIAM  E.  KEMP,  promoted  corporal ;  mustered  out  Sept. 
1,  1864. 

SILAS  D.  I<,EMP,  wounded  at  New  Hope  Church  ;  mustered 
out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

HENRY  KUNKLER,  deserted  1862;  returned  and  wounded 
at  Chancellorsville;  not  reported  further. 

BERNARD  KNUST,  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Antie- 
tam  and  siege  of  Atlanta  ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  H.  LANSFORD,  promoted  corporal;  wounded  at 
Chancellorsville  and  New  Hope  Church  ;  veteran. 

HENRY  LONGE,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Chancellors- 
ville ;  mustered  out  Sept.  22,  1864. 

MICHAEL  LAIKAUFF,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville  ;  dis- 
charged Feb.   19,  1864. 

JOHN  MEISTER,  discharged  for  wound  at  Cedar  Mountain  ; 
date  not  stated. 

JACOB  MATHIAS,  lost  a  leg  at  Resaca  and  discharged  ;  date 
not  stated. 

JOSEPH  MEYER,  discharged  1868;  date  and  cause  not 
stated. 

WILLIAM  MONROE,  killed  at  Gettysburg  July  8,  1868. 

CONRAD  MEHNE,  promoted  to  corporal  and  to  sergeant ; 
date  not  stated  ;  killed  at  Gettysburg  July  3,  1863. 

CYRUS  MORRIS,  discharged  April  12,  1863;  cause  not  re- 
ported. 

JOHN  NOBLE,  killed  at  Gettysburg  July  3,  1863. 

LAWRENCE  OFFER,  wounded  at  Peach  Tree  Creek  ;  not 
reported  on  further. 

FERDINAND  OESTICH,  died  Oct.  — ,  1862;  place  and 
cause  not  reported. 

ADDISON  PADGET,  wounded  at  Antietam  and  Chancel- 
lorsville ;  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 


TWENTY-SKVENTir    INDIANA.  625 

JOSEPH  REIS,  veteran. 

WILLIAM  RICHTER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOSEPH  ROELLE,  promoted  corporal,  1862,  and  orderly- 
sergeant,  1864 ;  veteran. 

RUDOLPH  REISIN,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

THOMAS  STILLWELL,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

CHRISTIAN  SCHRAKER,  wounded  at  Resaca;  mustered 
out  Sept.  12,  1864. 

PAUL  SCHMIDT,  discharged  Oct.,  1803,  for  wounds  at 
Chancellorsville. 

ANDREW  SCHUBLE,  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May 

8,  1803. 

JOSEPH  SCHROEDER,  wounded  at  Winchester  and  Get- 
tysburg; mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

JOHN  SEIFERT,  wounded  at  Antietim  ;  discharged  Dec, 
1862 ;  cause  not  stated. 

ELI  STOLLCUP,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3,  1863. 

RICHARD  SUDDETHS,  died  at  Darnestown,  Md.,  Nov. 
18,  1801 ;  disease. 

PETER  SIEBEL,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville;  reported  a 
deserter. 

DANIEL  SIEBEL,  wounded  at  New  Hope  Church;  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  ],  1864. 

MATHIAS  SCHMIDT,  mustered  out  with  band.  June  4,. 
1862. 

FREDERICK  W.  SCHMIDT,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  Pa., 
July  3,  1864. 

GEORGE  W.  STRINGER,  veteran. 

JOHN  J.  SMITH,  transferred  to  V.  R.  C.  for  wound  at  Get- 
tysburg ;  date  of  transfer  not  reported, 

JOSEPH  SCHINDLER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

FERDINAND  SCHUMACHER,  mustered  out  with  band 
Aug.  4,  1864. 

ORBAGAST  VOLLMER,  died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Dec. 
20,  1862;  disease. 

GEORGE  VUNDER,  mustered  out  Sept.  1,  1864. 

FERDINAND  WINDER,  discharged  Dec,  1862,  for  wounds 
at  Antietam. 

THOMAS  S.  WELDON,  wounded  at  Gettysburg;  veteran. 

RANSOM  WALLACE,  veteran. 

GEORGE  YOCHRIN,  killed  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Va.,  Aug. 

9,  1862. 

40 


626  HISTORY    OF    THE 

RECRUITS. 

ANTHONY  BERGER,  mustered  in  Feb.  24,  1862. 

JOHN  E.  GARDNER,  mustered  in  March  28,1864;  dis- 
charged for  wounds  ;  date  of  discharge  or  place  wounded 
not  reported. 

LEANDER  JERGER,  mustered  in  Feb.  24,  1862;  promoted 
second  lieutenant  at  once  ;  promoted  first  lieutenant  July 
1,  1864;  mustered  out  Nov.  4,  1864. 

JOHN  CONRAD,  killed  at  Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 


KILLED    AND    MORTALLY  WOUNDED. 

Winchester,  Virginia,  May  25,  1862. 

Company  A,  Corporal  Jacob  Michael  ;  Company  C,  Ed- 
ward Qiiillen  ;  Company  D,  Henry  Albright,  Adam  Schar- 
dein. 

Cedar  Mountain,  Virginia,  August  9,  1862. 

Company  A,  Orderly  Sergeant  William  Allen  ;  Sergeant 
Noah  Allee,  Richard  A.  Proctor;  Company  B,  William  R. 
Carson  ;  Company  D,  Bloomfield  Beavers,  John  H.  Culbert- 
son  ;  Company  E,  Sergeant  Thomas  Hill,  Corporal  John 
Jones,  Philip  Ross,  John  B.  Jones;  Company  I,  First  Lieu- 
tenant George  W.  Reed,  Thomas  Deveireaux,  Charles  Lewis, 
Henry  Lewis,  George  D.  Martin,  John  W.  Martin,  Abraham 
Swartz,  David  Tuggall  ;  Company  K,  Bernard  Hock,  George 
Yochirn. 

Antietam,  Maryland,  September   17,  1862. 

Company-  A,  Second  Lieutenant  William  Van  Arsdol, 
Jasper  Hadden,  John  W.  Hansel,  John  Layton  ;  Company  B, 
Joseph  C.  Hanna  ;  Company  C,  First  Lieutenant  Jacob  A. 
Lee,  Color  Sergeant  Lewis  D.  Payne,  Corporal  John  Louis, 
Emanuel  Fulp,  John  Gardner,  Martin  Layman,  John  H.  Parr  ; 
Company  D,  Joseph  Fiddler,  Elias  Grace,  John  A.  Henshaw, 
William  H.  Smith,  Eldridge  Williams;  Company  E,  James 
Herrinshaw,  Nathan  Logan,  Franklin  Smith  ;  Company  F, 
Captain  Peter  Kopp,  Alfred  L.  Cantwell,  John  Gillespie; 
Company  G.  William  J.  Ilensley,  Robert  McLaughlin  ;  Com- 
pany  n,  Luther  Beadle,   \Villiam   Deputy,   Samuel   S.    Lem- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  627 

ming;  Company  I,  Corporal  Robert  L.  Good,  Carmen  New- 
man, Robert  W.  Faith;  Company  K,  Corporal  Gregory  Hal- 
ler,  John  Conrad,  James  Duffey,  Joseph   Evans. 

Chancellorsville,  Virginia,  May  3,  1868. 

Company  A,  First  Lieutenant  vSimpson  S.  Ilamrick, 
Sergeant  James  Ballard,  Corporal  William  O.  Kenyon,  James 
De  Witt;  Company  B,  William  B.  Matthews,  Samuel  Todd, 
James  Wagoner;  Company  C,  Sergeant  Washington  Doren, 
Corporal  Jerome  Sims,  Corporal  John  Zigler,  Corporal  John 
Runkle,  William  Sandifer ;  Company  D,  Captain  John  A. 
Cassady,  Edward  M.  Cavins,  George  W.  Donica,  William 
Lewis,  William  E.  Mulky ;  Company  E,  Joseph  Carroll, 
Hilliard  G.  Baldwin,  vSolomon  Cox;  Company  F,  Second 
Lieutenant  Isaac  Van  Buskirk,  Joseph  Trollinger,  William 
Williams,  Alfred  Wilson;  Company  G,  Sergeant  James  H. 
Terhune,  Asa  B.  Terhune,  Thomas  HUlman  ;  Company  II, 
James  Booher,  William  H,  Farthing,  Robert  McClannahan  ; 
Company  I,  Thomas  J.  Dodson,  John  S.  McMannis.  Joseph 
W.  Smith,  David  B.  McDonald;  Company  K,  Second  Lieu- 
tenant Julian  F.  Hoffer,  Xavier  Donhauer,  James  H.  Kemp, 
Andrew  Schuble. 

Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania.  July  3,  1863. 

Company  A,  Corporal  Christopher  C.  Showalter,  George 
Bales,  Thaddeus  Hunt,  Charles  E.  Wishmeyer  ;  Company  B, 
Corporal  Elisha  Guthry  ;  Company  C,  James  A.  Alexander, 
Daniel  Colvin,  Jesse  Wells  ;  Company  D,  Sergeant  Stephen 
J.  Reyburn,  Sergeant  Elijah  Tumy,  Thomas  Hall,  Samuel  R. 
Lewis,  Josephus  D.  Lynn,  Peter  Umphress,  Laban  Williams; 
Company  E,  James  M.  Chapman,  William  II.  Wilson  ;  Com- 
pany F,  Sergeant  Isaac  McKnight,  Abraham  Lister;  Com- 
pany G,  Sergeant  John  P.  Fletcher,  L.  C.  Anthrum,  D.  T. 
David,  Lyfus  Holt ;  Company  H,  Sergeant  George  W.  Batch - 
elor,  Thomas  J.  Lett;  Company  I,  Sergeant  Joseph  Gilmore, 
Ira  Hunt;  Company  K,  .Sergeant  Conrad  Mehne,  Jacob 
Gardner,  Abednego  Innman,  William  Monroe,  John  Noble, 
Eli  Stollcup,  Frederick  W.  Schmidt. 

Resaca,  Georgia,  May  15,  1864. 

Company  A,  Henry  A.  Moyees;  Company  B,  Anderson 
Dickert ;   Company  E,  Thomas  B.  Gregory,  John    R.  Keller; 


628  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Company  F,  George  Edwards,  Reuben  Hendrickson  ;  Com- 
pany G,  Francis  Betchman;  Company  H,  John  Meek;  Com- 
pany I,  First  Lieutenant  George  T.  Chapin,  Hamilton  H. 
Asher ;   Company   K,  Barney  Cullen. 

New  Hope  Church,  Georgia,  May  25,  1864. 

Company  B,  William  Hanna,  William  J.  Flynn  ;  Com- 
pany C,  Sergeant  William  Beeson  ;  Company  H,  Albert  E. 
Ammons;  Company  I,  John  W.  Patrick,  Manford  Kutch; 
Company  K,  John  Donnelly. 

Peach  Tree  Creek,  Georgia,  July  20,  1864,  and   Siege 
OF  Atlanta. 

Company  B,  George  W.  Stout,  George  W.  Herendon  ; 
Company  E,  John  Webber,  James  Lashley ;  Company  F, 
Thomas  F.  Pratt ;  Company  G,  John  K,  Whetstine  ;  Com- 
pany H,  William  Statton. 

At  Various  Places. 

John  Cheatham,  Company  C,  on  picket,  Smithfield,  Va.; 
William  B.  Atchinson,  Company  D,  Mississippi  Flotilla,  Jan. 
15,  1862;  James  Dillon,  Company  K,  Harpers  Ferry,  Va., 
May  29,  1864. 

DIED  OF   DISEASE,  ACCIDENT,  ETC. 

Company  A. 

James  Allen,  Alliance,  Ohio,  Sept.  16,  1861,  railroad  ac- 
cident;  Benjamin  F.  Crose,  April,  1863,  place  not  stated,  dis- 
ease ;  Charles  W.  Gibbons,  Baltimore,  Md.,  June  19,  1863, 
small  pox  ;  Jessie  Jackson,  Winchester,  Va.,  March  27,  1862, 
pneumonia;  Sylvester  Layton,  Annapolis,  Md.,  Dec.  22,  1862, 
cause  not  stated;  Jessie  C.  McCoy,  Fredrick,  Md.,  March  12, 
1862,  cause  not  stated;  John  J.  Palmer,  Darnestown,  ISId.. 
Nov.  12,  1861,  typhoid  fever;  Charles  R.  Rawlings,  Darnes- 
town, Md.,  Nov.  20,  1861,  typhoid  fever;  David  Steward, 
Smoketown,  Md.,  date  not  stated,  general  debility  ;  William 
Turner,  Fredrick,  Md.,  Feb.  24,  1862,  cause  not  stated;  Earl 
Moore,  Fairfax  Station,  Va.,  Jan.  14,  1863,  disease. 

Company  B. 

Stephen  Bordman,  Nov.  12,  1861,  place  not  stated,  dis- 
ease ;  Benjamin  F.  Chestnut,  Nov.  7,  1861,  place   not   stated, 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  629 

measles;  George  E.  Davis,  Dec.  12,  1801,  disease,  place  not 
stated;  Joshua  Gaugh,  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  May  14,  1862,  dis- 
ease ;  Willis  Hubbard,  died  while  a  prisoner.  Belle  Isle,  Va., 
Aug.,  1862;  Isaiah  Hoverstock,  Stafford  Court  House,  Va., 
1868,  date  and  cause  not  stated;  Pierson  Wagley,  Darnes- 
town,  Md.,  Dec,  1861,  disease;  Charles  U.  Carroll,  near  At- 
lanta, Ga.,  Aug.,  1864,  disease  ;  Joseph  Richardson,  Dam  No. 
4,  Aid.,  Dec,  1862,  disease;  John  S.  Hackler,  1861,  measles, 
place  and  date  not  stated  ;  Green  Overton,  Indianapolis,  Ind., 
Aug.,  1861,  before  muster  in. 

Company    C. 

Joseph  Aikens,  Fredrick,  Md.,  Jan.  4,  1862,  disease;  John 
Acton,  Baltimore,  Md.,  Dec.  28,1861,  disease;  Godfrey 
Baker,  Fredrick,  Md.,  Jan.  1,  1862,  disease;  Henry  Craw- 
ford, Kelley's  Ford,  Va.,  Sept.  1868,  disease;  William  Cline, 
Darnestown,Md.,  Nov.  18, 1861,  measles;  William  G.  Evans, 
Strasburg,  Va.,  May  21,  1862,  disease;  Joseph  Garrison, 
Fredrick,  Md.,  Jan.  29,  1862,  disease;  Jasper  Nugent,  Staf- 
ford Court  House,  Va.,  Feb.  16,  1868,  disease;  Luthur  Wind- 
ship,  Fredrick,  Md.,  Dec  31,  1861,  disease;  James  Elliott, 
Stevenson,  Ala,  March  14,  1864,  disease;  William  Tread  way, 
in  prison  Andersonville,  Ga.,  exposure  and  starvation. 

Company  D. 

Second  Lieutenant  Meridith  W.  Leach,  Camp  Halleck, 
Md.,  Dec,  1861,  disease;  Second  Lieutenant  Daniel  R.  Con- 
rad, Camp  Halleck,  Md.,  Jan.,  1862,  pneumonia;  Corporal 
Samuel  F.  Kern,  Camp  Halleck,  Md.,  Feb.  1,  1862,  pneumo- 
nia ;  Enoch  Anderson,  July  11,  1868,  place  and  cause  not 
stated;  John  Bowden,  Feb.  5,  1862,  place  and  cause  not 
stated  ;  John  Brothers,  Jan.  2,  1862,  disease,  place  not  stated  ; 
David  Carter,  Evansville,  Ind.,  July  10,  1864,  disease;  Perry 
Davis,  disease,  place  and  date  not  stated;  Peter  Isaac,  Lynch- 
burg, Va.,  July  28,  1862,  hardships  of  prison  life;  Wesley 
Slider,  April  3,  1863,  disease,  place  not  stated  ;  Nathan  Tin- 
der, Feb.  11,  1862,  disease,  place  not  stated;  Adam  Williams, 
December  9,  1861,  disease,  place  not  stated;  John  Younger, 
Lynchburg,  Va.,  Sept.  10,  1862,  prison  hardships;  Michael 
Seegar,  June  27,  1862,  place  and  cause  not  stated. 


630  history  of  the 

Company  E. 

Sergeant  Patrick  Curley,  Washington,  D.  C,  Nov.  11, 
1862,  prison  hardships;  William  C.  Boyd,  Lynchburg,  Va., 
date  not  reported,  prison  hardships;  Lewis  Clark,  Alexandria,. 
Va.,  Dec.  11,  1863,  cause  not  reported;  Benjamin  T.  Gregory, 
Washington,  D.  C,  Dec.  7,  1862,  prison  hardships;  William 
Gainor,  Frederick,  Md.,  Dec,  1861,  disease;  George  Gesler, 
on  his  way  home,  date  and  cause  not  reported  ;  Joseph  Haw- 
kins, Williamsport,  Md. ,  Dec.  2,  1862,  disease;  George  W. 
Honey,  Atlanta,  Ga. .  Aug.  14,  1864,  disease;  Henry  Huskes, 
Washington,  D.  C,  Sept.  12,  1862,  disease;  Thomas  Layton, 
place  not  stated,  Dec.  9,  1862,  disease;  John  J.  Williams, 
Darnestown,  Md.,  Nov.  9,  1861,  disease  ;  Ivy  (or  Ira)  Wilson, 
Winchester,  Va.,  March  21,  1862,  disease. 

Company  F. 

George  W.  Goins,  Feb.  27,  1862,  disease,  place  not  re- 
ported ;  William  Brown,  Darnestown,  Md.,  date  not  reported, 
disease ;  William  Barnes,  Darnestown,  Md.,  date  not  re- 
ported, disease;  Benjamin  V.  Campbell,  Camp  Halleck,  Md., 
date  not  reported,  disease;  Jessee  K.  Denney,  Berryville,  Va., 
1862,  disease,  precise  date  not  reported;  Martin  O'Connell, 
Chattahoochee  River,  Ga.,  disease,  date  not  reported;  Henry 
Sipes,  Nov.  23,  1861,  measles,  place  not  reported;  Robert  M. 
Tatlock,  Fredrick,  Md.,  disease,  date  not  reported;  John 
Thomas,  died  on  his  way  home,  disease,  date  and  place  not 
reported  ;  Benjamin  White,  disease,  date  and  place  not  re- 
ported. 

Company   G. 

Corporal  Morris  Beavers,  Camp  Halleck,  Md.,  Dec.  20, 
1861,  disease;  Erasmus  Davenport,  Frederick,  Md.,  Dec, 
1861,  disease;  James  Davenport,  Baltimore,  Md.,  Oct.,  1862, 
disease;  Jeptha  Engle,  believed  to  have  died  of  disease,  but 
place  and  date  unknown  ;  Henry  Fry,  died  while  a  prisoner, 
date  and  place  unknown  ;  Henry  J.  Fleenor,  known  to  have 
died  of  disease,  but  place  and  date  not  reported ;  Corporal 
Samuel  W.  Fleenor,  Darnestown,  Md.,  Sept.  18,  1861,  dis- 
ease; William  Gladden,  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  11,  1862,  dis- 
ease; Charles  Horner,  near  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Sept.  1,  1864,  dis- 
ease ;  George  W.  Kane,  Frederick,  Md.,  date  and  cause  not 
stated  ;  John  Lester,  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.,  1862,  disease  ;  John 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  631 

Robison,  Camp  Jo  Holt,  Oct.  31,  1861,  disease  ;  Cliarles  Rob- 
ison,  in  prison  Richmond,  Va.,  July,  18G2,  hardships;  J.  M. 
Wright,  in  prison  Richmond,  Va.,  July,  1862,  prison  hard- 
ships;  William  Mathews,  Frederick,  Md.,  date  and  cause  not 
reported. 

Company  H. 

Sergeant  Newton  H.  Fitzgerald,  Fort  Monroe,  Va.,  date 
not  stated,  prison  hardships;  William  R.  Adams,  Alexandria, 
Va.,  Jan.,  1862,  nostalgia;  Green  Bias,  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan. 
11,  1862,  pneumonia  ;  Calvin  Brooks,  Winchester,  Va.,  March, 
1862,  fever;  John  M.  Brower,  Fort  Delaware,  Del..  Oct.  22, 
1862,  prison  hardships ;  William  H.  Chambers,  Alexandria, 
Va.,  April  25,  1864,  disease;  Henry  Deputy,  Frederick,  Md., 
Jan.  12,  1862,  consumption  ;  Martin  F.  Hall,  Washington,  D. 
C,  Nov.  21,  1862,  prison  hardships;  Harvey  B.  Hill,  killed 
in  railroad  accident  Dec.  7,  1861,  place  not  reported  ;  Oren  E. 
Jayne,  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  22,  1862,  consumption  ;  Richard 
Muster,  near  Pittsburg,  Penn.,  date  not  reported,  railroad  ac- 
cident;  Patrick  Murphy,  Lynchburg,  Va.,  date  not  reported, 
prison  exposure;  Parker  Truelock,  Winchester,  Va.,  April 
18,  1862,  fever;  John  W.  Walton,  Lynchburg,  Va.,  July,  1862, 
prison  exposure;  James  R.  Baldwin,  Jeffersonville,  Ind..  Oct. 
11,  1864,  cause  not  reported;  Granville  Holt,  Maryland 
Heights,  Md.,  disease,  date  not  reported. 

Company  I. 

Cyrus  Alexander,  Maryland  Heights,  Md.,  Oct.  22,  1862, 
disease  ;  James  A.  Grimes,  Strasburg,  Va.,  May  22,  1862,  dis- 
ease ;lohn  Hussey,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  22,  1862,  disease; 
Marion  Harris,  Darnestown,  Md.,  Dec.  1,  1861,  disease  ;  Wal- 
ter Logan,  Berryville,  Va.,  April  1,  1862,  measles;  Samuel 
Pickens,  Jeffersonville,  Ind.,  July  22,  1864,  disease  ;  Henry  B. 
Thomas,  Maryland  Heights,  Md.,  Sept.  28,  1862,  disease. 

Company  K. 

Sergeant  Joseph  Mehringer,  Jan.,  1862,  disease,  place 
not  stated;  William  Suddeth,  June  9,  1862,  disease,  place  not 
stated;  David  Bradley,  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  June  20,  1864, 
disease;  James  A.  Cooper,  Frederick,  Md.,  Jan.  22,  1862, 
disease;  Ferdinand  Oestich,  Oct.,  1862,  place  and  cause  not 
reported;    Richard    Suddeth,    Darnestown,    Md.,    Nov.,  1861, 


632  HISTORY    OF    THE 

disease;    Orbagast   Vollmer,   Washington,    D.    C,    Dec.    20, 
1862,  disease. 

WOUNDED,  BUT  NOT  MORTALLY. 

This  is  not  a  complete  list.  There  are  very  few  names, 
if  any,  on  this  list,  that  should  not  be  upon  it,  great  care 
being  exercised  in  that  respect.  But  it  has  been  impossible  to 
get  a  full  list  of  the  wounded. 

Field  and  staff,  Colonel  Silas  Colgrove,  Chancellorsville 
and  Peach  Tree  Creek, 

Company  B,  at  Buckton,  Va.,  May  23,  1862;  William 
L.  Allen,  James  P.  P.  Denton,  James  O.  Loughlin,  Daniel 
L.  McCarter,  Charles  W.  Stanley,  John  Sparks,  Corporal 
John  Russell,  Corporal  Elisha  Guthry. 

Winchester,  Virginia,  May  25,  1862. 

Company  A,  Captain  John  W.  Wilcoxen  ;  Company  C, 
Emanuel  Fulp,  John  K.  McCaskey,  Ira  Kyle;  Company  D, 
Eli  Clampitt ;  Company  E,  Sergeant  Patrick  Curley  ;  Com- 
pany F,  Captain  Peter  Kopp,  George  Edwards,  William  W. 
Edwards,  H.  vS.  Gabbert,  Franklin  Lemmons ;  Company  H, 
W.  W.  Fitzgerald,  Adam  Bias,  Patrick  Murphy,  Gritfith 
Ogden,  James  M.  Richards;  Company  K,  Captain  R.  M. 
Wellman,  Fredolin  Hager,  Paul  Geppner,  Joseph  Schroeder. 

Cedar  Mountain,  Virginia,  August  9,  1862. 

Company  A,  Corporal  Emanuel  Nicewander,  William 
Dodson,  Simpson  Evans,  Charles  W.  Gibbons,  Evan  T. 
Grider,  Charles  Wishmeyer  ;  Company  B,  George  M.  Critch- 
low  ;  Company  C,  Emanuel  Fulp;  Company  D,  Lieutenant 
Thomas  J.  Box,  Sergeant  Silas  W.  Whitler,  Corporal  Austin 
N.  Wilder,  Elijah  I.  Crawford,  Clemmens  Johnson;  Com- 
pany E,  Captain  G.  W.  Burge,  Corporal  Abner  McDonald, 
Seth  White ;  Company  G,  Sergeant  Charles  A.  Kelso, 
Joseph  Stimson  ;  Company  H,  Phillip  Cox,  Francis  Dooley, 
William  Francis,  Nicholas  Warner;  Company  I,  Captain 
Tighlman  H.  Nance;  Company  K,  Sergeant  John  B.Mel- 
choir,  Corporal  Conrad  Eckert,  Celestine  Eckert,  Bernard 
Knust,  John  Meister. 

Antietam,    Maryland. 

Company  A,  Captain  J.  W.  Wilcoxen,  Lieutenant  Sam- 
uel D.  Porter,  Sergeant    Filburd    S.  Wright,  Corporal  James 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA,  633 

Ballard,  Corporal  Charles  M.  Bowen,  Corporal  Spencer  Mon- 
nett,  Corporal  C.  C.  Showalter,  Corporal  Marion  J.  Alice, 
John  Bresnahan,  William  H.  Brann,  Francis  Butler,  James 
M.  Foss,  Eri  A.  Gambold,  Philip  A.  Fair,  Henry  A.  Moyers, 
Henry  Rutherford,  James  S.  Steel,  Henry  Squire,  Harrison 
Young;  Company  B,  Daniel  L.  Arford,  William  J.  Flynn, 
Levi  F.  Faith,  George  W.  Herronden,  Hiram  Kinneman, 
James  O.  Laughlin,  William  Laux,  Daniel  S.  iVlcCarter, 
Rezin  Sumner,  Charles  Combs,  Sanford  H.  Shively,  John  R. 
Laughlin,  John  Hubbard,  William  Shively,  Andrew  J. 
Williams,  Russell  Davis,  Henry  Graun  ;  Company  C,  Joseph 
Applegate,  James  A.  Alexander,  M.  S.  Brown,  E.  R.  Brown, 
James  H.  Bass,  James  Bradburn,  Thomas  Browning,  John 
Bargman,  Stark  Cutsinger,  John  Dinn,  W^illiam  Doyle, 
George  East,  William  Frye,  John  Hand,  E.  C.  Jones,  Ira 
Kyle,  Jasper  N.  Layman,  Allen  Oaks,  David  Parker,  Nathan 
Richardson,  John  Runkle,  Edwin  vSpurgin,  Ephraim  Sholl, 
John  Treadway,  William  Way  land,  David  Wayland,  George 
W.  Weir,  James  C.  Rouse,  John  Wells;  Company  D,  Ser- 
geant John  Palmer,  Sergeant  Stephen  J.  Rayburn,  Corporal 
Austin  N.  Wilder,  Corporal  John  Bridwell,  Corporal    Daniel 

B.  Williams,  James    Burk,  Francis    M.  Douglas,  Christopher 

C.  Fiddler,  William  Fiddler,  Daniel  Phillips,  George  W. 
Phillips,  Joseph  E.  Myers  ;  Company  E.  Lieutenant  James 
Stephens,  Sergeant  B.  M.  Clark,  Corporal  R.  R.  Bratton, 
Daniel  Alton,  J.  A.  Davis,  Edwin  Freeman,  John  C.  Fitz- 
gerald, Martin  V.  Gilly,  William  Hennig,  William  S.  Jones, 
Joseph  R.  Jones,  Andrew  Langton.  Erastus  Lane,  John 
Murat,  Josiah  Robinson,  Elijah  H.  Tummy,  Amos  White, 
John  Chapman  :  Company  F,  Lieutenant  J.  D.  McKahin, 
Sergeant  John  M.  Bloss,  Sergeant  James  Campbell,  Corporal 
Joseph  V.  Kenton,  Thomas  Ard,  Calvin  Arthur,  James  S. 
Arthur,  Joshua  Bunnell,  John  Campbell,  Dawson  Denney, 
William  W.  Edwards,  William  Eads,  Thomas  M.  Gascon, 
William  H.  Gillaspie,  James  B.  Gillaspie,  Henry  C.  Gabbert, 
Tighlman  H.  Gentry,  Howard  H.  Hensley,  Philip  McMannus, 
Thomas  McGinnis,  Francis  Ottwell,  James  Sherman,  Joshua 
Tatlock,  David  B.  Vance,  Samuel  R.  Vinson,  Henry  Van 
Voorst,  John  Williams,  John  Weaver,  Barton  W.Mitchell; 
Company  G,  Elijah  Baker,  Jacob  C.  Fisher,  James  J.  Lane, 
Timothy  L.  Pratt;  Company  H,  Corporal  \'olney  \Valton, 
Corporal    Alonzo    Olmstead,  Corporal  Jonathan    Baker,  John 


684  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Beadle,  George  W.  Beasley,  Henry  Brathouse,  Austin  Dun- 
lap,  Thomas  Dorset,  Joshua  L.  Foster,  Emanuel  C.  Jones, 
Enoch  Layton,  Dennis  W.  Ogden,  Orren  Shepherd,  Samuel 
H.  Steel,  Joseph  W.  Tobias,  Perry  Booher ;  Company  I, 
Lieutenant  George  T.  Chapin,  Corporal  Isaac  Haddin,  Cor- 
poral John  B.  Clapsaddle,  John  Q^  Adams,  Lewis  W.  De- 
Wenter,  William  L.  Douglas,  Henry  Eaken,  John  L.  Gil  more, 
James  M.  Hall,  George  Lawrence,  Joseph  W.  Smith,  John 
Scott,  Alfred  A.  Keck,  Sergeant  James  F.  Nosier,  Ira  Hunt, 
Thaddeus  M.  Nance,  Reuben  Newman,  William  H.  Storms; 
Company  K,  Corporal  David  Burger,  F.  A.  Sermersheim, 
Edward  Duffy,  John  E.  Gardner,  William  Harbison,  Bernard 
Kunst,  Henry  Longe,  Adison  Fadget,  John  Seifert,  Ferdi- 
nand Winder. 

Chancellorsville,  Virginia. 

Company  A,  Corporal  Marion  J.  Allee,  John  Bresnahan, 
Hiram  Busby,  Valentine  T.  Proctor,  Henry  Squire,  William 
W.  Warner,  Elijah  H.  Wilkinson  ;  Company  B,  Lieutenant 
William  Hubbard,  Sergeant  Ira  Brashears,  Robert  Herron, 
Hiram  Horrall ;  Company  C,  Captain  Josiah  C.  Williams, 
Lieutenant  Roger  S.  Loughery,  Sergeant  Isaac  D.  Harter,  Ser- 
geant John  Q.  A.  Carvin,  Corporal  William  Beeson,  Corporal 
Samuel  Beemer,  Joshua  Chambers,  William  Green,  Daniel 
Greer,  J,  E.  Hart,  Jasper  N.  Layman,  Morgan  Pitcher,  Louis 
Smith,  James  Dinn,  John  B.  Vancheif,  Merrick  S.  Brown, 
John  Joyce,  Thomas  J.  Acton,  David  Wayland,  Edmund  C. 
Jones,  John  Elliott,  John  Young,  William  Treadway  ;  Com- 
pany D,  James  Alexander,  Jonathan  A.  Cooper;  Company 
E,  Captain  George  W.  Fesler,  Abaslon  McDonald,  Henry  C. 
Austin,  A.  J.  Arnold,  Washington  Akester,  Joseph  D.  Bar- 
bor,  David  Brown,  David  Everhart,  Job  Gilly,  John  Jackson, 
Andrew  Langton,  Samuel  Weever,  Charles  H.  Weever,  Geo. 
W.  White,  Amos  White,  Corporal  William  Wagoner,  Cor- 
poral John  G.  Wallace,  John  Bonner,  James  M.  Bomer  ;  Com- 
pany F,  Thomas  Ard,  William  C.  Rilly,  Henry  Van  Voorst, 
Christopher  Sneider ;  Company  G,  Lieutenant  James  E. 
White,  James  P.  Kelso,  Jacob  Gilmore  ;  Aaron  Fleenor  ;  Com- 
pany II,  Lieutenant  Stephen  D.  Lyon,  James  M.  Fowler, 
James  Todd,  Nicholas  Warner;  Company  I,  Corporal  James 
Steers,  Lee  Hazel  wood,  Reuben  Newman,  Warren  Perry, 
John    Howard;  Company    K,  Captain    Stephen  Jerger,  Ser- 


TWENTY-SEVENTH     INDIANA.  685 

geant  George  Mehringer,  Corporal  Frederick  Vogel,  John 
Ackerman,  Conrad  Beck,  John  Tuhrman,  Leonard  Haller, 
Harry  Kunkler,  John  H.  Lansford.  Michael  Leikauff,  Adison 
Padget,  Paul  Schmidt,  Peter  Seibel. 

Gettysburg,   Pennsylvania. 

Company  A,  Lieutenant  John  R.  Rankin,  Corporal 
Marion  J.  Allee,  Corporal  George  Tincher,  Samuel  Fellows, 
Thomas  Wells;  Company  B,  Captain  John  W.  Thornburg, 
Lieutenant  Thomas  W.  Cosey,  Wm.  N.  Flinn,  Levi  F.  Faith,. 
David  L.  McCarter,  Michael  Keller  ;  Company  C,  Allen  Aper- 
son,  Elon  Andrews,  James  Bradburn,  Corporal  George  East, 
Sergeant  Robert  L.  Foster,  Jacob  Fillman,  John  Hand,  David 
Parker,  Corporal  Levi  W.  Willis  ;  Company  D,  Captain  T. 
J.  Box,  Lieutenant  Joseph  Balsley,  Sergeant  George  W. 
Stephenson,  Corporal  Samuel  B.  Williams,  Sergeant  Benj.  F. 
Kilgore,  Rufus  Williams,  James  M.  Seibert,  John  P.  Garrett ; 
Company  E,  Captain  George  L.  Fesler,  Sergeant  B.  M.  Clark, 
Sergeant  W.  P.  Ellis,  Sergeant  R.  R.  Bratton,  Corporal  John 
G.  Wallace,  Corporal  William  Wagner,  Henry  C.  Austin,  A. 
J.  Arnold,  Thomas  A.  Kester,  James  B.  Boyd,  William  Doan, 
James  Lashley,  Samuel  T.  Osman,  Samuel  S.  Weever ;  Com- 
pany F,  Sergeant  Joseph  Kenton,  vSergeant  James  G.  Baker, 
John  Groves,  Reuben  Hendrickson,  W.  H.  Hushaw,  Samuel 
Holler,  Franklin  Lemons,  Peter  Ryan;  Company  G,  John 
Atkins,  Alexander  Andrews,  Christopher  Melton,  Robert 
Melton,  Nathan  Terhune,  William  J.  Wells,  William  Weekly,. 
George  Kent ;  Company  H,  Captain  Joseph  Balsley,  Color- 
sergeant  John  L.  Files,  Corporal  Zoda  Butler,  Francis  Dooley, 
Andrew  Jones,  Lewis  King,  John  E.  Lett,  John  Muster, 
Olliver  Shepherd,  Harland  Anderson,  James  R.  Baldwin, 
Franklin  Garsage  ;  Company  I,  Lieutenant  John  K.  McCas- 
ky,  John  Hickson,  Reuben  Lucas;  Company  K,  First  Lieu- 
tenant John  Haberle,  Corporal  Andrew  Streigel,  Corporal 
James  C.  Thomas,  Corporal  Gregory  Haller,  Corporal  F.  A. 
Sermersheim,  Thomas  Evans,  Edward  Evans,  Benj.  D.  Kemp, 
David  B.  Kemp,  Joseph  Schroeder,  John  J  Smith. 

Resaca,  Georgia. 

Company  A,  Corporal  Marion  J.  Allee,  Joseph  H. 
Smith,  Elijah  H.  Wilkinson  ;  Company  B,  Sergeant  Peter  Ra- 
gle, Sergeant  Michael  Wallack,  Corporal  Abncr  Wilson;  Com- 


636  HISTORY    OP'    THE 

pany  C,  John  Hinchee,  John  Joyce,  George  W.  McGaffick, 
Charles  F.  Plymate ;  Company  D,  Lieutenant  George  W. 
Stephenson,  James  M.  Johnson,  Samuel  Simpson,  William 
H.  Stephenson,  John  L.  Asher,  Charles  M.  Ash,  Benjamin  F. 
Kilgore  ;  Company  E,  Sergeant  W.  P.  Ellis,  Sergeant  R.  R. 
Bratton,  Sergeant  David  Everheart,  Corporal  James  H. 
Dougherty,  John  Jackson,  John  Murat,  James  Maxwell, 
Samuel  S.  Weever,  Jordan  Welsh,  Corporal  John  G.  Wallace, 
Jeffrey  J.  Cox,  Philip  Osman,  Andrew  White,  James  S. 
Boyd;  Company  F,  David  Cook,  Henry  Van  Voorst,  Ser- 
geant John  Van  Buskirk,  John  Weaver,  Captain  John  M. 
Bloss,  John  Campbell,  Franklin  Lemon,  Enoch  Richardson, 
James  D.  Sherman;  Company  G,  James  Jacobs;  Company 
H,  Allen  Bryant,  Joshua  Deputy,  Thomas  Hunt,  Francis  M. 
James ;  Company  K,  Corporal  Andrew  vStreigel,  John  Ma- 
thias.  Christian  Schraker. 

New  Hope  Church,   Georgia. 

Company  A,  vSergeant  J.  B.  Gambold,  James  F.  Hardin, 
William  Stewart;  Company  B,  James  P.  P.  Denton,  George 
W.  Gore  ;  Company  C,  Orderly-Sergeant  Robert  L.  Foster, 
Daniel  Greer,  Edwin  Spurgeon ;  Company  D,  Edward  E. 
Reynolds,  Rufus  Williams;  Company  E,  Captain  James 
Stephens,  William  S.  Jones,  William  H.  Mears,  Nelson  Pur- 
cell,  Seth  White,  Marion  McAdams,  Daniel  Moucham,  Rob- 
ert R.  Marshall,  William  Stipps  ;  Company  F,  Captain  John 
M.  Bloss,  Corporal  M.  H.  Van  Buskirk,  Martin  Hoover,  John 
Larkins,  George  Welch  ;  Company  G,  George  Pate,  Aaron 
Allen  ;  Company  H,  Corporal  William  Cunliff,  Adam  Brower, 
Phillip  Cox,  Thomas  Dorset;  Company  K,Paul  Gepner,  John 
E.  Gardner,  John  H.  Lansford. 

Peach  Tree  Creek    and  Atlanta. 

Company  A,  Corporal  Marion  J.  Allee,  Henry  Squire, 
William  Dodson,  Noah  J.  Palmer;  Company  B,  Alonzo  Bug- 
her,  Richard  Trueblood,  Alexander  Callahan;  Company  E, 
Sergeant  David  Everheart,  Joseph  D.  Barber,  Jackson  Hop- 
per, John  Murat,  Berry  vStreet,  Corporal  William  Wagoner; 
Company  F,  Orderly  Sergeant  Calvin  Arthur,  Daniel  Burk  ; 
Company  G,  George  W.  Prosser ;  Company  H,  James  M. 
Richards;  Company  K,  Corporal  August  Donnerman,  Law- 
rence Offer,  Celestine  Eckert,  Bernard  Knust. 


twenty-seventh  indiana.  637 

At  Various  Places. 

Lieutenant  Samuel  D.  Porter,  Company  A,  Elk  River, 
Tenn.  ;  Benjamin  Arthur,  Newtown,  Va.,  May  24,  1862  ;  Rob- 
ert Grays,  on  picket,  Strasburg,  Va,,  May,  1862;  Emanuel 
McCane,  place  and  date  not  reported  ;  Ira  Kyle,  Front  Royal, 
Va.,  July  3,  1862. 

PRISONERS 

A  list  of  those  taken  prisoner  as  far  as  reported.  Evi- 
dently not  a  complete  list. 

Surgeon  J,  J.  Johnson,  remained  at  hospital  at  Win- 
chester; Assistant  Surgeon  G.  V.  Woollen,  remained  at  hos- 
pital at  Gulpeper. 

GOMPANY  A. 

Gaptured  at  Winchester,  Woodson  Bryant,  Hiram  Busby, 
James  DeWitt,  Sylvester  Layton,  Noah  J.  Palmer,  Patrick 
Ryan,  Thomas  Wells.  Gaptured  at  Gedar  Mountain,  Eari 
Moore. 

GOMPANY  B. 

Gaptured  at  Buckton,  Gaptain  W.  E.  Davis,  Gorporal, 
John  Russell,  Gorporal  Michael  Wallack,  Jonas  Davis,  Wil- 
lis Hubbard,  William  Laux,  William  B.  Mathews,  John  W, 
Sharum,  John  Sparks,  John  Moratta.  Gaptured  at  Win- 
chester,   Bartlett    O'Gallahan,    Gharles    W.   Stanley. 

GoMPANY  G. 

Gaptured  at  Smithfield,  William  Devit.  Gaptured  at  Win- 
chester, Gorporal  William  Beeson.  Gaptured  at  Ghancellors- 
ville,  I.,ieutenant  R.  S.  Loughery,  Joshua  Chambers.  Gaptured 
at  New  Hope  Ghurch,  William  Treadway. 

Company  D. 

Gaptured  at  Winchester,  Elihu  Glampitt,  Peter  Isaac, 
John  Younger.  Gaptured  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Lieutenant 
Thomas  J.  Box. 

Company  E. 

Gaptured  at  Winchester,  Sergeant  Patrick  Curley,  Cor- 
poral Charles  H.  Weaver,  A.J.  Arnold,  David  Brown,  James 
B.  Boyd,  William  G.  Boyd,  Joseph  Carroll,  Benjamin  T. 
Gregory,  Samuel  S.  Weaver,  George  W.  White. 


638  history  of  the 

Company  F. 

Captured  at  Winchester,  Captain  David  Van  Buskirk, 
Corporal  M.  H.  Van  Buskirk,  Benjamin  F.  Bourne,  David 
Cook,  George  Edwards,  Michael  Healey,  John  Larkins,  Abra- 
ham Luyster. 

Company  G. 

Captured  at  Winchester,  Alexander  Andrews,  Elisha 
Bailey,  Henry  Fry,  Charles  Horner,  Thomas  Kephart,  Joseph 
McClain,  Charles  Robison,  vSamuel  Tomey,  J.  M.  Wright, 
George  Wemer. 

Company  H. 

Captured  at  Winchester,  Lieutenant  Stephen  D.  Lyon, 
Sergeant  George  W.  Batchelor,  Corporal  Adam  Brower, 
Adam  Bias,  John  Brown,  Reuben  Holbrook,  Martin  F.  Hall, 
John  M.  McConnell,  Patrick  Murphy,  James  M.  Richards, 
John  W.  Walton,  Captured  at  Cedar  Mountain,  Corporal  N. 
W.  Fitzgerald. 

Company  L 

Captured  at  Winchester,  Amos  Kersey. 

Company  K. 

Captured  at  Winchester,  H.  K.  Hendrickson. 

VETERANS. 

Company  A. 

Corporal  Joseph  N.  Bill,  Corporal  Marion  J.  Allee, 
Corporal  George  Tincher,  William  Bales,  Woodson  Bryant, 
William  Dodson,  William  Elliott,  Eri  A.  Gambold,  David 
Hansell,  James  F.  Hardin,  Lindsey  Lamb,  John  Lewis, 
William  McGrew,  John  B.  Prichard,  John  L.  Messier, 
Henry  Squire,  Samuel  J.  Wain,  W.  W.  Warner,  Elijah  H. 
Wilkinson. 

Company  B. 

Sergeant  John  E.  Hayes,  Sergeant  Peter  Ragle,  Thomas 
Anderson,  Enoch  M.  Bruner,  Thomas  R.  Bruner,  George  M. 
Critchlow,  Alexander  Callahan,  William  Cox,  Jonas  Davis, 
James  P.  P.  Denton,  William  M.  Flinn,  Levi  F.  Faith, 
George  W.  Gore,  Andrew  J.  Keller,  Andrew  J.  Williams, 
Michael  Keller. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH    INDIANA.  639 


Company  C. 


Orderly  Sergeant  R.  L.  Foster,  Corporal  John  B.  Van 
Cleif,  James  Dinn,  William  Fry,  John  Hinchee,  George  W. 
McGaffick,  Charles  F.  Plymate,  John  Young. 

Company  D. 

Corporal  John  Reed,  Corporal  William  H.  Stephenson, 
James  Burk,  William  D.  Steel,  Abram  Waughtell. 

Company  E. 

Orderly  Sergeant  B.  M.  Clark,  Sergeant  Robert  R.  Brat- 
ton,  Sergeant  David  Everheart,  Corporal  James  H.  Dough- 
erty, Henry  C.  Austin,  Andrew  J.  Arnold,  Washington 
Akester,  David  Brown,  James  M.  Bomer,  Joseph  A.  Davis, 
James  Edward,  John  B.  Boyd,  Martin  V.  Gilley,  Joseph  R. 
Jones,  John  Jackson,  John  Lattimore,  Robert  R.  Marshall, 
John  F.  Palmer,  Nelson  Purcell,  James  B.  L.  Shepherd,  John 
A.  Thomas,  Samuel  S.  Weaver,  Samuel  F.  Webber,  Jordoii 
Welch,  Charles  H.  Weaver,  John  G.  Wallace. 

Company  F. 

Corporal  John  Groves,  Franklin  Lemmon,  William  II. 
Hushaw. 

Company  G. 

Aaron  Allen,  Isaac  Brown,  Elisha  Bailey,  Henry  C. 
Bevan,  William  J.  Blue,  Robert  W.  CoflFee,  James  H.  Cay- 
wood,  Corporal  Samuel  O.  Fletcher,  Marshall  Gardner,  Emery 
Howell,  Noah  P.  Hillman,  Peter  D.  Jacobs,  John  II.  Thomp- 
son, William  Weekly. 

Company  H. 

Sergeant  George  W.  Coons,  Corporal  Volney  Walton, 
Corporal  Alonzo  Olmstead,  Adam  Bias,  Allen  Bryant,  Phillip 
Cox,  Sergeant  Henry  A.  Farris,  Reuben  Holbrook,  Griflin 
Stradley,  Corporal  William  Muster. 

Company  I. 

Sergeant  Lewis  P.  Stone,  Corporal  Plamilton  Asher,  Lee 
Hazlewood,  John  C.  Heath,  John  Ilixon,  John  Howard, 
George  Lawrence,  Thaddeus  M.  Nance,  ReJben  Newman^ 
Michael  McKinney,  James  Parsons,  John  W.  Patrick,  John 
Scott,  William  R.  Hale,  James  Stevens. 


640 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


Company  K. 

Ordelry  Sergeant  Joseph  Roelle,  Sergeant  Frederick  Git- 
ter,  Sergeant  F.  X.  Sermersheim,  Reinhart  Rich,  John  Ack- 
erman,  James  Burton,  Edward  DuiTey,  August  Donnerman, 
Celestine  Eckert,  Benjamin  F.  Kemp,  Joseph  Reis,  George 
W.  Stringer,  Ransom  Wallace. 


IIStlDBIX:. 


Age,  average 22 

Amputation  Scene ;Wo 

Antietam  Dead 251 

Antietam  Chapter 2^M 

Antietam  iMap 244 

Antietam  Picture 248 

Army — Cumberland 4;{0 

Artillery— Chanccilorsville ;!24 

Bad  Roads 120 

Balls  Bluff r,y 

Balsley,  Capt.  J 2(19 

Banks,  Gen.  N.  P bbS 

Battery  Park 424 

Blanket  Exercise 458 

Box,  Capt.  Thomas  J 208 

Breastworks,  .Sample blil 

Bresnahan,  John 96,  141 

Brown,  A.  H 358 

Brown,  E.  R 858 

Brown,  John 78,  100 

Buckton  Skirmish 127 

Bull  Run 112,  21H 

Cahn,  M    159 

Camp,  Going  into 281 

Camp  Halleck. 76,  551 

Camp  Hamilton 53 

Camp  Morton 26 

Camp  Jo  Holt   64 

Camp  Morris 40 

Campaign,  Atlanta 496 

Campbell,  John 89 

Capitol  of  U.S 46 

Card  Playing 83 

Cedar  Mountain  Battle 194 

Cedar  Mountain  Map 198 

Chancellorsville  Chai)ter 306 

Chancellorsville   House 312 

Chancellorsville  Map ;!1."( 

Chapm,  Lieut 474 

Dam  No.  4 27;> 

Davis,  Capt 5() 

Dead  at  Gettyslnirg 3i)4 

Dead,  Rebels  burying  the....  353 

Deserter  Shot 433 

Dougherty,  Adjt 295,  304 

Douglass,  W.  T 107 


Dunker  Church 245 

East,  George 11 

E.xchanging  Coffee,  etc 215 

Fairfax  Station 282 

Fesler,  Colonel 291,  304 

Eesler,  Capt.  Peter 291 

Files,  Col.-Sergt.  J.  L 141 

Fireside,  A  typical 544 

Flag  Captured 476 

Flag,  One 495 

Flags,  New 299 

Flap  Jacks 55 

Francis,  Col.,  Letter  of 401 

Furguson,  Lieut.  O.  P 157 

Gambold,  Sergt.  J.  B 302 

Germaina  Ford 309 

Gettysburg  Chapter 365 

Gettysburg  Map 392 

Gettysburg  Bearing 551 

Gore,  G.  W 96 

Gordon,  Gen.  Geo.   H    106,  lOS 

Gosport  Money 90 

Grand  Rounds 68 

Grant,  Gen.  U.S 449 

Graybacks 114 

(ireen.  Gen.  Geo.  H.   173,  176 

Guns 49,  172 

Haberle,  Capt 269 

Hamilton,  (icn 52,  107 

Hainrick,  Lieut.  S.  S 340 

Hardtack  and  Bacon 548 

Harpers  Ferry. 98 

Harri.son,  Col.  A.  1 73 

Hart,  Ed 208 

Headquarters,  Meade's 376 

Howard,  Hensley 170 

Hight  t)f  the  men 22 

llolloway,  Capt 340 

Hooker,  Gen 288,  299 

Hoosier  City 7(>,  551 

Hospital — Gettyslnn-g 3!^9 

Hostotter,  \V.  H 47 

Infantry  Engaged 'A'.VA 

Inspections 69 

Jamison,  Lievit.  J.  M 456 


INDEX. 


Johnson,  Surgeon 

Kelleys  Fonl  Crossing; 

Kelleys  P\jnl  Camp 

Killed,  etc 

Kopp,  Capt 

Loughlin,  John   D 

•Loughlin,  Joseph  D 

Last  Month 

Lee,  Lieut.  J.  A 

Lincoln,  President 2, 

Loughery,  Lieut.  R.  S 

Mansfield,  Gen.  J.  K 

Maryland  Heights 

Meade,  Gen 

Meadow,  Gettysburg 

Mehringer,  Maj 

Merrimack 

Mississippi 

Monument  at  Gettysburg 

Monument  at  Jasiier,  Ind 

Morrison,  Col.  A.  L   

Morton,  Gov.  O.  P 

Morton,  Camj) 

Mount  Vernon 

Muddy  Branch 

McClelland,  Gen.  (;.  B !)7, 

McKasky,  Lieut.  J.  K 


;507 
4P2 

170 

P25 
P25 
51(i 
157 

mi 

274 

241 
265 
871 
381 
89 
418 
427 
404 
541 


2H 

26 

419 

64 

288 
295 


Nativity  of  men 21 

New  Hope  Church 481 

Newspapers  in  Camp 88 

Newtown 182 

Nosier,  Sergt.  J.  F 117 

Notions,  First  of  Soldiering.  .  .  7 

New  York 4S1 

Occupations  Ke-presented 20 

Officers  A])pointed 89 

Par.sons.  W.  .M 172 

Payne,  Col. -Sergt.  L.  1) 198 

Peach  Tree  Creek  Chapter  .  .  .  517 

Peach  Tree  Creek  Majj 525 

Picket  Reserve 228 

Pies,  Got  Any,  -Xunty 228 

Porter,  Lieut.  S.  D 45(; 

Prisoners ();!7 

Prisons,  Kcbcl 4'.»2 

(^uiiit.  Cliaplaiii •;••••■    429 


i'.\(;p; 
Rag,  The  power  of 411 

Rankin,  Lieut.  J.  R 78 

Rappahannock,  Back  to 406 

Rapi)ahannock,  Re-crossing..  847 

Reisen,  Rudolph 47 

Recruiting  the  Regiment 18 

Resaca  Chapter 464 

Resaca  Map 471 

Review,  Grand 78,  298 

Roll  Call 124 

Roster,  Regimental 557 

Ruger,  Gen.  T.  H 298,  808 

Kundell,Lieut.  F.  D 852 

Sharp,  .Sergt.-Maj.  J.  R   802 

Sherman,  Gen.  W.  T 462 

Slaves 91,  512 

Slocum,  Gen.  H.  W 298 

Sons  of  Veterans 550 

South  Carolina^Brigade 887 

Stafford  Court  House 2K7 

Stampede  at  Chancellorsville.  821 

Stimson,  J.  V 2W) 

Sword,  Col.  Colgrove's 520 

Tents,  Our  First 428 

Thomas,  Gen.  George  H 460 

Tullahoma,  Tenn 445 

Twiford,  Surgeon  W.  H 852 

Van  Buskirk,  Capt.  I) 159 

\'an  Buskirk,  Sergt.  John 86 

Van  Buskirk,  Lieut.  Isaac 85 

Van  Buskirk,  M.  H 9.  122 

Van  X'oorst,  Henry 89 

\'eteran  Roll 688 

Wagon  Train 62 

Wagon  Train  Stampede 188 

Wash  Day : 215 

Welcome  Twenty-seventh.  .  .  .  546 

Whitted,  Chaplain 107 

Wilcoxen,  Capt.  J.  W 474 

Williams,  Capt.  J.  C 10.274 

Williams,  (len.  .V.  S 104 

Williamsport,  Md 154 

W'inchcslcr  Chapter 102 

Winchester  Battle 154 

Winchester  Battle,  Since KiO 

WolTord's  Brigade 262 

Woollen,  Sergt.  G.  \' 487 

Wounded    682 


I6li^ 


CENTRAL  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 


[■*.■<  v^ 


■t-.r, 


UCSD  Libr. 


^C  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A  A  001  400  142 


*^^' 


|*:'V<fe/ 


^^? 


'^'^L 


?K 


r^ 


^^^m^ 


% ... 


